Plot Bunnies
by Faust VII
Summary: Half Started Stories on Various Animes Such as Inuyasha, Naruto, YYH, and Others. These are very old ones of mine that I Will NOT Continue. Feel Free to Adopt Any. I Do Not Own Any Of These Animes. WARNING: May be full of mistakes and bad grammar
1. Death's Angel : Naruto

The large forest could be described as beautiful and peaceful. It was alight with the sun's rays, and everything was colourful and blooming. The animals grazed and the birds soared singing loudly. The only place silent was the area in the north part of the forest. It was still colourful and beautiful, but there were splashes of red everywhere, no bird sang, no animals grazed; there was only the sound of ragged breathing. A shadow, as it could be called, headed towards that small red splashed clearing.

The shadow was draped in a large black cloak like robe with the hood pulled up. All you could see was the bottom half of the shadow's face, and only if you looked closely when the light hit the pale skin of the shadow. The shadow walked purposely forwards, their slippered feet not making a sound. The shadow held a large white and black scythe. It was held against the shadow, resting on its shoulder. The shadow's arms held it gently as if cradling a child. The shadow walked at an even pace, not once breaking stride, not once making a sound. As the shadow's feet hit the ground, all the grass and plants would die, only to grow back as soon as the foot started to lift. You couldn't even tell someone had stepped there.

As the shadow entered the clearing it stepped over fifteen ripped apart bodies that looked like they had been ripped limb from limb. None of the seven were living. Most had been dead for an hour. The shadow looked to towards the only still living person. The person's breath came in short ragged pants. They looked to be leaning against a large tree. But the shadow could see sticking from the man's chest was a long silver sword. It was going through their stomach and judging by the amount of blood and the blood dripping from the man's mouth, the sword had hit something vital. The man, who was pinned against the tree, showed no signs of noticing the shadow as his head was bowed and all his focus was on breathing properly and ignoring the pain.

The man was quite tall the shadow noted; at least six feet. He had pale blue skin, and what looked like gills under his black beady eyes. His hair was a deeper blue and stuck up. He looked shark-like. The man wore a large elegant silk cloak that was black littered with several red clouds. He also wore a ninja headband with the mist symbol on it, a slash through it. Beside the man, at his feet, was a large blue scaly sword, dripping in blood. The shadow tilted their head in interest as he looked at the scene. He could easily see the shark man had killed the rouge ninja, indicated by their headbands. Then it seemed one of them had caught the shark man off guard and pinned him to the tree. Of course the shadow knew this man was going to die. That was why he was there. The shadow walked easily up to the man who finally seemed to notice him. The shark lifted his head and blinked at the shadow, leaning heavily against the tree.

"If you are here to kill me get it over with and stop wasting my time." The shark rasped.

"Oh but I am not here to kill you." The shadow said a feral grin splitting the bottom half of his face.

The shark looked confused.

"I am here to get you, and escort you to the next world." The shadow laughed darkly.

"So you are what death looks like." The shark-man laughed, but the laugh came out as a choked rasp.

"Yes, and you Hoshigaki Kisame missing ninja from the village hidden in the mist, are in your last few minutes of life."

The shark just gave what sounded like a sigh.

"So you are death?" He asked before coifing up a lot of blood.

The shadow waited till the man stopped coifing before going on.

"I am death's angel." The shadow said.

"So you're an angel and death?" Kisame asked.

"Yes and No. I am an angel, but I am working for death, not death himself." The shadow laughed.

Kisame seemed too tired and in too much pain to ask more. The shadow, now known as Death's angel stood patiently. He knew Kisame only had a few minutes. While he waited and watched the shark pant in pain, he looked him over. He had heard much about the famous missing ninja who wielded Samehade, and was part of Akatsuki. He watched him closely for about four minutes. Then he spoke.

"You have a minute left."

"Yeah well I hope you know I'm not going out without a fight." Kisame growled and rested his hand on the hilt of the sword ready to pull it out, seeming serious now.

"Yes, I knew you would put up a fight. But that will not be necessary if you do not die."

Kisame blinked.

"Do you wish to live?" The shadow asked.

"Yes." Kisame said slowly.

"Very well, tell me your reasons."

"Many. I have not finished so many things, and my last drink wasn't even sake. Besides, I said I would make it back, and I can't have the blonde bomb freak rub the failure in my face when he joins me in hell." He laughed in a rasped way.

Another grin spread across the Shadow's face.

"Very well then, I have decided to give you another chance at life."

Kisame blinked in surprise as the shadow reached one hand out, the sleeve of the black robe slipped back, leaving a pale soft hand, with black painted fingernails to grip the sword buried in Kisame. Before Kisame could move the shadow ripped the sword out of his stomach and tossed it to the side before placing his hand an inch above Kisame's wound.

.--.

The hand was surrounded by a green light made by chakara. Kisame watched as his wounds healed and as he felt so much better. He stood straight as the Shadow pulled his hand away. He flexed his hand and looked back down to where his wound had been. It was gone, leaving only bloodstained skin, and a ripped shirt. He slowly reached down and grasped Samehade in his hands keeping his eyes on the shadow who just watched him from under his hood.

"Come, I will show you a place to wash off at." The shadow said.

Kisame watched as the black shadow walked to the edge of the clearing. Kisame only followed when the shadow motioned him from over his shoulder. Kisame kept a wary eye on the large scythe. It looked even sharper then Hidan's three bladed scythe, and gave off an even scarier aurora like it was very powerful. It had a tall black handle that looked like a twisted tree branch. The blade was long and slightly curved on the end. It was a brilliant snow-white, blade that surprisingly didn't stand out even being the color of white it was. Kisame followed a few feet behind the figure as they walked at a good pace for a few hours. When they finally stopped they were in a small clearing with a small waterfall that fell into a pool, and drifted into a creek. The pool looked quite deep and the water was crystal clear.

"I suggest you wash off the blood before it stains everything to badly." The shadow said.

Kisame noticed that the tone was neutral, almost bored, like Sasori's. He didn't much care though he was still letting the surprise of living wear off. He shrugged and gently set his Samehade and his Akatsuki cloak on the ground. Then he ran at the water, his clothes still on. He dived into the water happily. He stayed in the water awhile scrubbing the blood off. When he finally got out he looked to the sky. He blinked. The sun was at about the noon point. He scowled softly. It meant he had been pinned to the tree for only an hour or so. He sighed and hoped from the water. He grabbed his cloak and wrapped it around himself settling his Samehade onto his back. He glanced at the Shadow who was sitting on a rock looking at the waterfall. He could only see from the nose down and all he saw then was soft lips and pale skin with a creamy tinge.

"So are you coming with me or am I coming with you or what?" he asked.

The shadow turned towards him.

"I will be coming with you."

"If what you said was true about the death stuff then is someone else going to die?" He asked.

"No. I'm just bored."

Kisame snorted.

"Lead the way."

Kisame nodded and waited till the shadow was standing. Then he leapt to the first tree, taking off, hopping from branch to branch. He glanced back once to check on the shadow, who he couldn't sense, hear, or smell at all. The shadow still held their staff close and seemed to glide from branch to branch, barely touching each branch before he was off to the next. Kisame just looked back ahead and watched his steps. After about four hours the two dropped from the trees in front of a large mansion. The shadow tilted his head as he looked at it and Kisame watched him.

"This is the Akatsuki base. Genjutsu barrier surrounds it."

Shadow nodded and waited till he walked to the door.

"Just to let you know we don't just let anyone come here. We sometimes bring people we think could be members. All I have seen so far are your medic abilities but they are even enough to let you join."

The Shadow gave him a lopsided grin showing off perfect white teeth. Kisame looked back to the mansion and walked around the place. He could sense most of the others out back in the training area. He walked around the large house, along the small stone path till he reached the back where there was a large cleared space. Most of the ground was just dirt, the grass worn away long ago. Deidara was sitting against a tree and Tobi was swinging from the same tree. Sasori sat on in a chair by the house. Itachi also sat in a chair a little distance off. Hidan looked to be sleeping against a tree and Kakuzu was counting some money in the shade. Konan was standing near the door talking with Pein. Everyone silenced as Kisame stepped forwards and cleared his throat. Most people were looking at the shadow who stepped beside him though.

"Who is this?" Pein asked.

"Well…." Kisame said unsure of how to answer. "He should answer that because I don't know much about him."

"You don't know much about him yet you brought him here?" Konan asked scowling.

"Well my mission went wrong and I was on the very verge of death, yet he healed me in less than ten seconds." Kisame sighed.

Everyone blinked.

"I know of none, other then maybe the Godaime of Konoha who could possibly do that." Pein said looking shadow over.

"So what is your fucking name?" Hidan grumbled.

"I have many names." Shadow grinned.

Most people could see the grin.

"Where are you from?" Sasori asked.

"Do you mean when I was alive, or after I died?"

Everyone looked taken back by this except Kisame who sighed again.

"What do you mean?" Itachi asked.

"Um yeah… to let you know this is the angel of death." Kisame said scratching the back of his head.

Everyone sort of blinked.

"Are you feeling okay, un?" Deidara asked.

"Perfectly fine." Kisame grumbled.

"He is telling the truth. I am death's partner. I used to be an angel but I signed a contract to work with death thus becoming a cross between an angel and a grim reaper." The shadow grinned.

"That's not funny." Tobi sniffed as if scared.

"How can I prove it to you?" Shadow asked.

"If you're 'death's angel' as you say then you would be dead. So prove it." Kakuzu said.

They all seemed somewhat amused.

"Fine, someone take their best shot." Shadow said shifting his weight.

Before anyone could move Sasori had thrown twenty senbon needles at the shadow, all dripping in poison.

"That is a special poison that will kill you in a minute. But with that much you'll be dead in ten seconds." Sasori explained.

Shadow hadn't even flinched as they had struck him, one had even hit him right between the eyes. He pulled them all out and dropped them to the ground lazily. Everyone starred a moment.

"Any other tests?" He asked.

"You said an angel? Do you have wings?" Konan asked looking slightly interested.

Shadow sighed and suddenly two large black wings spread from his back. A feather drifted down and Kisame grabbed it. He shivered. It felt really cold and dark, like all his emotions were being pushed to the back of his mind as fear and despair took over. He dropped it quickly. Everyone blinked. The Shadow jumped up and his wings flapped. He hovered in the air a minute then dropped. He then seemed to yawn before looking his staff over, as his wings vanished in a swirl of shadows. Everyone was starring wide eyed, some gaping.

"Well no matter what that was it was impressive enough to get you a place in Akatsuki." Pein said slowly.

"So I can join?" The Shadow asked.

"Yes, but you have to give us a name." Pein said.

The shadow held their scythe in the crook of their elbow as they lifted their hands to their hood. As they pulled back everyone's mouths dropped open. Starring at them was a woman, with long pink hair, pale skin, and sea foam green eyes.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. At least that was my name before I died and became death's angel." She smirked.

They all stood there starring at her. Zetsu looked her up and down.

"**Haruno Sakura, the Godaime's apprentice**?" He asked.

"Hai."

"_We heard you had died."_

"I did."

They continued to stare.

"_It was said you died when your friends turned on you."_

"True."

"**Why**?"

"Because of Uchiha Sasuke. He returned from sound and when I refused his marriage proposal he got angry. He had become an ANBU captain so he had power. We were on a mission and he told everyone I was plotting against them. They had to obey his command to capture me… dead or alive. I fought back of course, but against the Konoha twelve minus myself, I didn't stand the best of chances. I gave them some good injuries. And almost killed Sasuke but I died in the end."

There was silence.

"Well, welcome to Akatsuki." Pein said.

Sakura grinned.

"I will stay with you for as long as I can and want but I still have duties to do as the angel of death." She said.

"Okay." Pein said slowly.

"And one duty I still doing. I saved Kisame of my own free will. I rarely do, so I must take him to the underworld and explain why I did it. And I have to go tell death he won't be getting Mr. Hoshigaki."

There was silence. Sakura just smirked and dropped her scythe. To everyone's surprise it didn't hit the ground. It floated two feet from the ground, parallel with the ground. Sakura slid on it so she sat at the end without the scythe. She sat side saddle, like a witch. She motioned Kisame over. He wandered over slowly. She patted the scythe and he sat. Sakura noticed Itachi had his mangekyou on.

"It's not a genjutsu or a jutsu." He said.

Sakura nodded. Then she grinned.

"Would you like to come Itachi?"

Itachi scowled.

"I know some people who would like to see you."

Everyone glanced at the Uchiha. Itachi slowly took a step forwards. Once he sat on the scythe too Sakura chuckled. The scythe flew higher up about twenty feet. All the Akatsuki members just watched. As soon as they stopped rising the wind picked up. Zetsu stumbled back as a round swirling hole appeared in the ground near the center of the yard. It was crimson with black streaks and seemed to swirl like a whirlpool. Sakura chuckled again and suddenly the three and the scythe were diving straight down towards it.

"Next stop! Hell!" She yelled.

As they drew closer chains shot up and pushed the scythe down faster. Kisame let out a yelp as they shot straight into it.

.--.

The Akatsuki members all starred at the swirling hole. It slowly shrunk till it vanished with a pop. The member still starred at the ground where it had been.

"I'm going to lie down. I have the suspicion I'm not getting enough sleep." Pein sighed.

Everyone nodded in agreement as their leader walked off.

.--.

Kisame and Itachi starred as they flew down the tunnel. The hole had turned out to be a long tube like thing. As they got closer to the end they saw red rock and flames. They shot from the tube, which happened to be on the ceiling of where ever they were. They looked around to see the place looked like a cave that was made of red barren rock. The cave was huge and they couldn't see the walls, only stalagmites and stalactites and fires. It looked like what you could picture hell as.

The two held onto the scythe as they flew down towards the ground. They briefly wondered how the hell they had stayed on for so long and hadn't even budged when going straight down. They shook the thoughts off as they touched down on the ground near a tall table and a road. They now noticed the road wove across the barren rock and out of sight. Behind the desk sat a tall man with bright red hair in a bushy ponytail. He had small orange animal ears on his head and red eyes. He had fangs and looked a bit like a fox. He wore an orange yukata and they noticed he had ten fox tails. He glanced at them. He was huge. About a hundred times their size.

"Ah, Sakura." He boomed.

"Hello Satan." She grinned.

"I told you to stop calling me that. My name is Komi."

Sakura laughed.

"I know."

"So who is he?" Kisame whispered.

"This is Komi. He's kind of like the ruler of hell. He actually is just stepping in for Kyuubi."

"Kyuubi?" Kisame asked slowly.

"Yes. Kyuubi is my daughter. When on her vacation someone killed a friend she had made and she got mad and attacked Konoha. She was sealed away. We're just waiting for her to break the seal or for her container to die." Komi boomed.

He two starred up at him.

"She?" Itachi asked.

"Yeah. Kyuubi is a girl and the ruler of hell. The other tailed beasts also work in hell each on one of the levels. Like Shukaku runs level one." Sakura grinned.

Komi nodded agreement. Then he looked the two over with a contemplating look.

"They are alive. And even if they weren't I don't think they would be here."

The two seemed surprised by that."

"I know. I'm just looking for Death. Have you seen him?" Sakura asked.

"Your master is in heaven, at the moment."

"Okay, and I believe Kisame here would love to see a certain someone." She grinned.

Komi nodded and snapped his fingers. Kisame starred at the man who appeared. He looked defeated and destroyed.

"My former Mizukage." He gaped.

"Yup. He was sent to the ninth level of hell." Sakura chuckled.

"Who?" The Mizukage rasped.

He looked up at Kisame.

"Help me!" he screamed.

Kisame smirked and shook his head. Chains appeared and tied the Mizukage up before dragging him off down the road.

"That made my day." Kisame grinned.

Sakura nodded and motioned the two to get back on the scythe.

"Well see you later Satan."

"Yeah see you…HEY I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!"

The whole place shook with his voice. Sakura giggled and set off. They flew straight up through another tube. But this one was blue and white. The two felt…happy, as they flew through the tube. As they popped out the top they blinked again. They were in a sunny place. They looked around and realized the place was heaven. They could see white clouds for a long ways and t as peaceful and sunny. They glanced behind them to see a large stone wall and a silver gate.

They hoped off the scythe onto the clouds at Sakura's insistence. They hesitantly stepped. Kisame grinned widely and hopped up and down. Sakura giggled and led the two towards the gate. As they reached it they saw a small door in the wall. Sakura knocked and a small man popped out. He had a long white beard and long white hair. He had some blue clothes on and wore large coke bottle glasses. He was about five feet tall and looked as if he was waiting with an expectant look on his face.

"Hey Elder." Sakura smiled.

"Eh? Oh it's you. Go on in." He said.

He waved a hand and the one gate opened. The three stepped around it and inside. As they did so the cloud changed to grass. Kisame and Itachi starred again. Instead of a cloud and peaceful landscape they saw a landscape that looked perfect. It had soft short grass as far as the eye could see. There were tree once in a while and flowers too. If you looked hard you could see far off mountains and forests. There was a brick road that the three followed. After five minutes of walking they climbed a small hill.

As they looked down they saw a village. It was perfect and looked lovely. You could see children running and parents and such lounging. Everyone had white wings and some even had halos. Everyone seemed happy and content. Sakura led the two down the path towards the village, but suddenly turned off a bit before. She walked across the grass and over another hill. As they topped it they saw a large manor. Sakura walked up to the door and knocked. The door was opened a second later by a woman. She was the picture of a perfect woman. Everything about her was perfect and beautiful. She had long black hair and wore a white dress. She had large white wings that looked nicer then even the villagers.

"Hello Kami." Sakura chirped.

Itachi and Kisame starred. First the Kyuubi is the ruler of hell and now a woman was Kami.

"Hello Sakura. And please call me Kagome."

"Sure." Sakura chirped.

Kagome glanced at the two.

"Why have you brought two mortals? I was expecting the blue one but not the other."

"Well I saved Kisame so he's not here because he's dead. And I brought them along for fun and to talk to Death."

"Oh. Death is around back." Kagome smiled.

"Thanks."

The door shut and Sakura led the two around the manor to a large pool at the back. Sitting in a lawn chair was a man with long black hair in a braid. He wore white baggy pants and a white long sleeve shirt with splashes of blue and red on it along with blue armour overtop. On his forehead was a red four pointed star. He was laying back his arms crossed under his head. In the ground beside him was a huge sword, with a black cloak draped beside it. Six other people sat around him talking. There was a man who looked feminine, a bald man, a short man, a huge man, a normal looking man, and a mechanical looking man.

"Hey death." Sakura called waving.

"I told you to call me Bankotsu." The man with the sword snapped.

Kisame and Itachi blinked. All seven of the people looked towards them.

"I was only expecting one." Bankotsu said.

"Well you get neither. I saved Mr. Shark." Sakura grinned.

Bankotsu scowled.

"You can't save people all the time."

"I rarely do. And I like Sharky." Sakura pouted.

Kisame glared at her. He was itching to rip his Samehade off his back and hit her. Itachi gave him a very small smirk. The other six all sat watching. Bankotsu looked the two over.

"So this is why you're here; visiting the old gang." Sakura smirked.

"Who?" Kisame asked.

"When Ban was alive he led a group of mercenaries called the band of seven." Sakura said.

"Mercenaries… They got into heaven?" Kisame asked.

"Yeah. You were going to come here too. You are quite good deep down…very deep down." Sakura smirked

"What?" Kisame yelled in disbelief. "I though I would go straight to hell."

"Why did you think that?" The feminine man asked.

"Well I'm part of Akatsuki." Kisame snorted

"Who?" The bald one asked.

"Group of criminals." Sakura said.

"So if I get to come to heaven does Itachi get to come?" Kisame asked.

Sakura and Bankotsu glanced at him.

"We haven't decided. He may go to hell." Sakura said.

"What? The handsome one goes to hell?" The feminine one asked.

"What did he do?" Shorty asked.

"Killed his clan." Kisame shrugged.

Everyone glanced at Itachi. Then they heard someone clear their throat. They glanced behind them to stare at a woman with long black hair, angel wings, and a halo. She wore a blue dress and stood smiling. Itachi's eyes widened.

"Hello Itachi." She said.

They all looked back to Itachi who stayed silent.

"Who's she?" Kisame asked.

"Mother." Itachi said.

Kisame's eyes widened. Itachi's mother walked up to him and tsked.

"You look to skinny. Have you been eating properly? And you look cold. You should put on an extra sweater. I can knit you one if you would like." She asked in concern.

Itachi scowled. They could swear they heard him mutter 'I killed her for things like this.'

"I truly hope Father is not in heaven." Itachi finally said.

"He's not. The devil or what not said something about beating his wife to often, attempting to kill his youngest son, and planning to kill the Hyuuga clan." She said.

Kisame's eyes widened.

"YOU KILLED YOUR CLAN FOR A GOOD REASON!?" He yelled in disbelief.

Itachi shrugged.

"My father was going to launch an attack on the Hyuuga clan and he had tried to kill Sasuke. He also tried to get Shisui to kill me, and he beat mother."

"What about the rest of the clan?" Kisame asked.

"No reason for killing them. Just entertainment." Itachi shrugged brushing some invisible lint from his sleeve.

Bankotsu burst out laughing and Kisame sighed.

"So how is Sasuke?" His mother asked.

"Bent on revenge, full of hate, arrogant, and quite twisted." Itachi smirked.

Mikoto scowled. Then she sighed.

"Well I must be off."

With that she walked off. Itachi just shrugged and returned to looking around.

"Why do some have halos and others don't?" Kisame asked.

"Only the kindest and purest souls get halos." Sakura said. "I had one when I first died, before I decided to work for lazy ass death over here."

"Hey!" Bankotsu yelled. "I prefer the term energetic-challenged."

Sakura and the feminine man snickered.

"Hey Kisame!" Came a yell.

Everyone looked over to see a man with a mask and head band on, camouflage pants, a grey shirt, and a giant sword walking over. Beside him walked a man who looked like a woman with long brown hair and a soft smile. They wore a ninja outfit and had a mask at their waist. They both had wings and the pretty boy had a halo.

"Oh hey Haku, Zabuza I haven't seen you in years." Sakura waved

"Zabuza made it into heaven!" Kisame screeched. "Haku I was expecting, but Zabuza!?"

Sakura laughed with Zabuza.

"Good to see you to Kisame. What are you doing here anyways? I see no wings." Zabuza said.

"I'm here with Pinky." Kisame said jabbing a thumb at Sakura.

"Ah yes the pink haired brat who was with the Uchiha boy, the blonde loudmouth, and the copy ninja." Zabuza scowled.

"What are you doing here Sakura?" Haku asked politely.

"Just stopping by to talk with my boss." She grinned.

"Boss?" Haku questioned.

"Where are you wings Pinky?" Zabuza asked.

"Here." She said.

The two large black wings sprouted from her back.

"Black?" Haku scowled.

"I'm Death's Angel." She grinned. "He's was too lazy to do everything so I take over most of it."

The two starred at her a minute.

"I would never have expected you to do that. You're too innocent. When I first saw you I was sure you would quite being a ninja." Haku said.

Sakura bristled.

"Well I didn't. I became Tsunade's apprentice and was even a candidate to be the Rokudaime but then my friends turned on me." She sneered.

"Sorry." Haku said.

"I've gotten over it. Besides now I can bug god, death, and Satan."

"I. Told. You. Not. To. Call. Me. That." A voice yelled.

Everyone looked over to see a smaller version of Komi poking his head out of Gods house.

"What are you doing here?" Bankotsu asked.

"Visiting. NOW YOU STOP CALLING ME SATAN! I HATE IT WHEN YOU DO!"

Sakura made a face.

"Satan, Satan, Satan." She sang.

He growled and stalked towards her. Sakura laughed and dropped her scythe again. She pulled the two Akatsuki members on and flew well above the house. She made a face at the kitsune who snarled.

"See you Haku." She waved.

"Bye Zabuza!" Kisame grinned.

"Oh and see you too death." Sakura said offhandedly. "I'm off to spend some time with the Akatsuki so you'll have to get off your ass and do some work. Later."

With that they were shooting towards the ground and down a tube.

"BYE SATAN!" She yelled one last time.

They heard a snarl before they popped out of the tube. Itachi and Kisame glance up to see the tube vanished in a cloud. They shrugged and looked down. They were a couple hundred thousand feet from the ground. Sakura giggled and steered her scythe straight down. They shot towards the ground at a frightening pace. As they got closer they made out the base and the few Akatsuki members outside. As they got closer the members noticed them too. About twenty feet before the ground Sakura pulled up and they dropped sitting straight till their feet hit the ground. Kisame scrambled off panting. The other members watched with wide eyes.

"I am never doing that again." The shark rasped.

"Chicken." Sakura muttered standing up.

Itachi also stood but looked a bit dizzy. He walked to a chair and plopped down.

"So where did you go?" Konan asked.

"Hell, then heaven." Itachi said.

The Akatsuki starred at them.

"We learned that the Kyuubi sealed in Uzumaki is the ruler of hell and that death is lazy, and if I die I get to go to heaven." Kisame smirked.

"You get to go to heaven if you die, un?" Deidara asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Itachi might get to too."

They all starred at Itachi a moment.

"And we met Zabuza and my former Mizukage. Zabuza is in heaven and the Mizukage is in hell." Kisame smirked.

Sakura nodded with a grin.

"And we met Itachi's mother. You know she is perfectly fine with Itachi killing her."

Everyone looked at Itachi again. He shrugged.

"And his dad's in hell."

Everyone just starred a moment longer.


	2. Jaguar : Crossover

Rin laughed as Jaken fell into the fire. Then Jaken burst out yelling, running towards the river. She could hear him yelling at her for tripping him. She just giggled. A-un gave a growl like laugh and laid his head back down. The two heads shot up a second later though and looked towards the trees. They sniffed the air and looked as if they caught a familiar scent. Rin gasped as a large cat walked into the clearing. It was a deep purple-almost black color. It had white-silver teeth and claws and some wisps of silver in its fur. Its eyes were a deep blue flecked with silver and icy blue.

It looked to be a jaguar, but was a lot larger. It would rise to at least Sesshomaru's waist making it almost as tall as Rin. Rin watched it warily scooting closer to the dragon, but her eyes stayed glued to the feline in awe of its beauty. A-un just sniffed and laid its heads back down as if the cat posed no threat to them. Rin took this as a good sign and held out a hand for the cat to sniff. It lumbered over to her with grace and let her stroke it. She gasped again as she let her fingers tangle it the perfect silky hair. The cats ears tweaked and its tail flickered back and forth. Rin stood up and giggled as the cat nuzzled her with tits head.

"You insolent girl! How dare you trip me….WHAT IS THAT!?" Jaken yelled as he walked back into the clearing soaking wet. "Hurry back here! It's dangerous!"

"But A-un doesn't think so, and it isn't hurting me." The twelve year old girl said cheerfully.

The cat smirked at Jaken from beside Rin. Jaken narrowed his eyes at the cat but couldn't attack it since Rin stood to close.

"Are you hungry kitty? We have some extra fish!" Rin sang.

The cat scrunched its nose at the name kitty but gave a nod. Rin grabbed the extra fish and held it out to the cat who took it nicely, then snapped it up in two bites. Rin giggled.

"Okay, bed now Rin. And you shoo cat." Jaken squawked.

The cat just smirked at him again and looked up at Rin. It purred softly and gave her large watery eyes. Rin squealed and hugged it tight.

"Can't he stay the night Jaken?" She pleaded.

"Sure." Jaken said quickly.

'Maybe Sesshomaru will skin it in the morning.' He thought gleefully. Rin squealed again and hurried to A-un. She patted the ground beside her for the cat. The large jaguar walked over and laid against the dragon giving a purr. Then Rin laid against the cat, which curled up around her. Rin quickly drifted off. Jaken soon fell into sleep too.

.--.

Sesshomaru scowled as he walked in to the clearing. As soon as he entered he had spotted the large purple jaguar. It lay against A-un with Rin curled up against it. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes slightly. A-un wasn't even awake meaning he felt perfectly safe around the cat, and not many people made the two headed dragon feel safe. Jaken had also fallen asleep, and no matter how stupid the imp was he would never fall asleep near a large threat. Sesshomaru stepped forwards from the shadow of the trees. The fire was still burning bright showing everything. The cat stood immediately. It slid away from both dragon and girl, not waking either. It bowed its head gently to Sesshomaru. Then the cat lifted its head and starred into Sesshomaru's eyes. Neither moved, starting a starring contest.

Sesshomaru was slightly surprised. The cat seemed to know who he was, and few dared to meet his eyes. Rin, Inuyasha, Naraku, and that miko were some of the few. Sesshomaru scowled inwardly at the mention of his brother and that strange miko. He hadn't seen his brother in half a year. But during the last time he had seen his brother, Inuyasha had been with the clay miko, not the other group. He had been curious about that and sought the other group out. The monk and the slayer had been with the two tailed neko and the kitsune child. The other miko hadn't been there.

They had said that Inuyasha had left with the clay miko because he had chosen her over the strange miko. They said the strange miko had gone home to rest for a while and they hadn't known when she would join them again. It seemed the clay miko had created a rift in between Inuyasha and the group and neither was on friendly terms. He had not caught a whiff of the strange miko either. It's not that he liked her, but he grudgingly admitted they would need her in the final battle. She would be great help and if she died the Shikon would become tainted, since the clay miko could no longer keep it as pure. And if the Shikon was tainted Naraku would gain even more power.

Sesshomaru fell from his musings as the cat let out a small sigh and looked to Rin, Jaken, and A-un. Then, to Sesshomaru's surprise the cat started to change. In three seconds the cat had been replaced by a tall woman. The said woman had long raven hair that fell to her lower back, and deep blue eyes with wisps of silver. Her skin was a creamy color and she had a perfect figure. She also had the same ears as the cat; deep purple with silver insides. She had the cat's tail too. It was deep purple tipped slightly with silver. Her hair had deep purple and silver ends too.

She wore a deep purple hakamas. She also wore a lighter purple shirt with a long flowing silver trench coat that fell to her ankles with purple streaks on it, open over the t-shirt. On her feet were some silver slippers. All in all she looked very nice, and familiar. Sesshomaru looked at her a moment. He sniffed the air and tilted his head slightly. Her smell resembled more of a human's then a demon's. But she was neither demon, nor completely human, nor half demon. She looked up at Sesshomaru and bowed her head again.

"Miko?" He asked.

"Hai. And my name is Kagome." She sighed.

"Why has your appearance changed?"

"It didn't. The girl you saw before was an illusion called genjutsu. I stayed like that so I didn't have to answer unwanted questions." She smirked.

He nodded slightly.

"What are you doing here? I thought you would be with the slayer and monk."

"No. I have reasons for being here. One would be to ask you something."

He raised an elegant brow in question. She bowed from her waist, her palms flat on her thighs.

"Would you, Lord Sesshomaru of the western lands, train me?"

His eye brow shot to his hair line in surprise.

"I know how to fight with a dagger or knife, with shuriken, and with other ninja blades, but I wish to learn how to use a sword."

He looked at her a moment. He could sense that her miko powers were stronger, and under much better control. And he could see that she was stronger. She would be a good ally.

"I shall train you."

She looked up with gratitude.

"We are heading to my castle tomorrow. You shall accompany us. I will train you, and so shall my generals."

She bowed again.

"Now sleep."

She laid down and with one bright smile she closed her eyes. Sesshomaru smirked. This would be interesting.

TWO YEARS LATER

Sango and Miroku stood back to back weapons barred and faces set in determination. Kirara stood a distance off fighting with Koga. Shippo was with Kirara. They had caught glimpses of Inuyasha and Kikyo too.

"Seems we're in a bit of trouble Miroku." Sango laughed grimly.

"Yes." He agreed.

They were surrounded by Naraku's hordes of demons. They could hear Naraku cackling from somewhere. They had been fighting for almost an hour, yet the demons never ended and they were already tired. Sango threw her weapon with a cry. It tore through the demons before rounding back to her. But it stopped short as a demon caught it in his jaws. She stifled a cry and pulled her sword free. Miroku had run out of his sutras and now just used his staff. The poison insects circled above waiting for him to use his wind tunnel. His staff was torn from his hands as he cried out in pain. Sango could see a demon's claws had caught his shoulder. She stood in front of his kneeling figure yelling curses in a moment of anger.

Suddenly the demons leaping at them were torn apart by a blast of blue energy. The two could only stare at the blank space where the demons had stood. They looked to the side to see Sesshomaru striding into the field, in confidence. His two headed dragon was diving from the sky, lightning surrounding it. Jaken sat in the saddle blasting the demons with his staff.

"I have never felt gladder to see him." Miroku laughed with a cough.

Sango seeing as they were safe for the moment tore a strip from the bottom of his robes to do a quick bandaging on his arm. Sesshomaru just walked past them towards the mass of other demons. Sango retrieved her sword and ran at the demon that had her Hiraikotsu. She killed the demon and grabbed her weapon and fell back to Miroku in case a demon attacked them. A moment later Shippo and Kirara bound up to them and they watched Koga leap into the horde of demons with a roar. Their peace didn't last long though. A minute later Kagura leapt of her feather with Kohaku. Sango steeled her emotions and leapt at her brother. Kagura just attacked Kirara, Miroku, and Shippo. Sango starred at Kohaku's eyes. They were different. They were full of life. And Kohaku was showing emotion even if it was very little.

"Little brother." She whispered in realization. "It's an act."

His eyes widened.

"Act as if it isn't. If Naraku notices he can have me under his control in a second."

Sango didn't know if it was an act or not so she kept her guard up. After ten minutes they were both panting and a glance to the others showed they were faring no better. Then suddenly a sword flashed in the air above Kohaku. Sango stifled a cry as the hilt came down hard on Kohaku's head, effectively knocking him out. Before Sango could see who it was, the person was gone just before Kagura gave a cry and also fell over. Sango turned to look at them. A woman with black hair and cat ears stood over Kagura's unconscious body. She smiled at everyone with clear blue eyes. She looked so familiar.

"Kagome." Sango gasped.

"Hello." Kagome said cheerfully.

Sango hurried up to her gathering her in a hug.

"We were worried."

"Sorry, but I was training with Sesshomaru."

"Why are you a demon?"

"I'm sorry but that is a question I won't answer."

With that Kagome was running at the thinned demon horde. Sango just fell to her knees in exhaustion and relief. Miroku and Shippo did the same. Kirara dragged Kohaku to them first before sitting beside them. They sat there, only spectators to the battle with Naraku. They saw Kikyo sitting a ways off also panting. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were fighting Naraku while Kagome and Koga tore through the last demons.

.--.

As soon as the last demon fell Koga fell down to his knees panting. Hakudoushi moved into position and was about to kill him when Kagome's sword hilt knocked him out. Kanna who stood off to the side with Akago inside one of Naraku's barriers had just watched. Then Kagome leapt to Naraku beside Sesshomaru. The battled lasted about ten minutes. At one point Inuyasha was thrown back and broke his leg, so he had to stay out of the rest of the battle. Then Sesshomaru and Kagome were left. The killing stroke was surprisingly dealt by Kagome.

She leapt into the mass of tentacles and jammed her sword into his heart. Of course his heart was in Akago so it didn't kill Naraku. Naraku had started to laugh but trailed off as Kagome smirked. Then in a bright blue flash, Kagome unleashed her miko powers. It turned Naraku to ash and made all the dead demons disintegrate. Kanna, Kagura, Koga, A-un, Jaken, Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, Shippo, Hakudoushi, Kanna, Akago, and Kirara were the only ones spared the purifying powers. Then everything was silent.

Kagura had woken with a cry and started to laugh. She had yelled something about her heart and took off into the sky with Kanna, leaving the two purple haired children behind. The two had suddenly merged into one, becoming Hakudoushi. They seemed quite pleased. Then Sesshomaru had marched up to Kohaku and pulled his Tenseiga free. He had swiped it over him making him gasp, and making the jewel fragment fall from his back. Sango had woken him and they had a tearful reunion. Kikyo and Inuyasha just sat gaping.

Sesshomaru tossed Kagome Kohaku's fragment of the jewel. Kagome had grabbed it and grabbed her piece along with Naraku's half. Then in the blink of an eye she had grabbed the piece Kikyo had hanging from her neck before grabbing Koga's. She held them in her hand and in a flash of pink the jewel was whole. Then Kagome had hurried to Sango and them. With a lot of conversation they had stood. Miroku and Sango had shown Kagome the marriage rings and she had congratulated them.

With lots of tears Sango, Kohaku, and Miroku had taken off on Kirara with Shippo. Koga had had a quick word with Kagome before he shot of towards his clan yelling about mating with Ayame. Then Hakudoushi had left on Enti. Kagome stood next to Sesshomaru and watched. Inuyasha had yelled at them about the jewel and killing Sesshomaru and to shut him up Kagome had hit the two with a small blast of her spiritual powers, knocking them out leaving her and Sesshomaru in silence.

.--.

They stood in the almost empty clearing and starred off at the setting sun.

"Well it was nice while it lasted." Kagome smiled.

"You are leaving?"

"Yes."

"Down the well?"

"Yes."

"…"

"I will miss you brother." She said.

"As I will miss you little sister."

That was the relationship they had formed while training.

"I will visit if I can." She smiled.

He gave a curt nod.

"Will you look after the soon to be remade slayers village?" She asked quietly.

He rested a hand on her shoulder.

"I will look after your friends."

"And Rin too?"

"Of course Rin."

She gave him a smile.

"I know that if you go down the well you go to the future and a shrine, but is that where you are going?" He asked.

She looked up at him. She had been very secretive on everything.

"That is my second home. My real home is down the well in another place. I will be returning there. I discovered the other place, with the shrine and Tokyo on accident and stayed there for two years before I was pulled here. I liked it here so I stayed here. I did visit my world once in a while though."

He gave a nod.

"Goodbye Sesshomaru." She said.

He looked down at her.

"Goodbye Kagome."

"Say goodbye to the others for me."

He gave a nod. Then he held out his hand. He gave her a bag that was full and tied tight with a string.

"My gift to you, and you already have the swords I gave you."

She smiled up at him and took the bag, swinging it over her shoulder before stroking the hilts of her two swords he had given her a while back.

"I hope to see you again."

He nodded in agreement. Then she was gone like the wind.

--

Kagome shot from branch to branch, chakra in her feet propelling her forwards at a faster rate. She only had to run for about ten minutes before the well was in view. She didn't even slow as she leapt from the trees in an Inuyasha like fashion. She fell down the well and was surrounded by a warm green light signifying she was going back to the ninja world.

SIX MONTHS LATER

"So what was our mission?" Kisame asked again as they walked down the village street.

Itachi and Deidara sighed.

"It's not a mission on. It's a festival and we're here to enjoy ourselves, un."

"And Leader gave us permission?" Kisame asked.

"Yes. He's here too. He said that this festival is one of the best ones you can see and said we could use a break, un."

Kisame grinned finally getting it.

"Sake?" He asked.

"Leader said not to get drunk before the festival because there would be time during the festival to get drunk, un." Deidara smirked.

"Where are the others?"

"Inn." Itachi said.

"So we're staying for the night?"

"Leader said the festival starts tonight and lasts most of the night so we will stay, un." Deidara grinned.

Kisame grinned with him and Itachi stayed indifferent. Itachi took the lead and led them towards a large fancy looking inn. They walked in and he handed Deidara and Kisame a key. Then he walked to his own room. He walked in and looked around. It was a good sized room and had an attached bathroom just like all the others. Itachi tossed his bags onto his bed with his Akatsuki cloak and then walked out the door. He met Deidara and Kisame in the front of the inn. They were watching Hidan who was across the street. He was flirting with a woman who looked annoyed, and who he had backed up to a wall.

Itachi looked the woman over but only saw black hair before they heard a cry of pain. Hidan doubled over and the woman let her leg drop. Deidara and Kisame burst into laughter clutching their sides and laughing till they couldn't breathe. Hidan stayed on the ground bent over in pain and the girl hurried off. Itachi just smirked. Finally Hidan grasped the wall for support and cursed. Deidara and Kisame helped him stand and they set off to look around. Itachi followed because he had nothing better to do. They had an hour till dusk and the beginning of the festival.

They walked past all the booths and stands that were just waiting to open. They found Sasori after a while and he joined them. They passed Konan and Pein, along with Kakuzu, Zetsu, and Tobi. No one said anything about their looks because they were near a hidden village and there were many strange ninja around. Besides that they were in earth country near some ninja clans. Most of the ninja clans around were known for odd powers and odd looks so barely anything could make these people gap, though some starred at Zetsu a second before moving on.

The Akatsuki members just did their own thing while waiting for the festival to start like most of the village inhabitants and visitors. Itachi was quite curious. He had heard rumours of the festival and it sounded nice. As the sun started to set, more people wander out and the colourful lights were lit, along with the lanterns. As the sun set, the booths opened. Deidara, Kisame, and Tobi looked the most excited and just set off at once to play. Itachi had changed into a traditional outfit like most of the people and wandered around alone, avoiding the women who starred at him and pretty much drooled looking at him.

Itachi caught sight of the others a couple times but didn't bother to talk with them. As the moon vanished behind the clouds and a large fire was lit near a dancing area most people abandoned the booths and many shut down. In curiosity Itachi walked to the large bonfire and found a place at the front of the crowd. There was a stage right behind the flame. Everyone was whispering and waiting. Itachi watched in silence spotting a most of the other Akatsuki members watching in curiosity too. When he saw Pein watching with what was veiled excitement he became even more curious and expectant. They waited about five minutes before lights around the stage light up. Everyone silenced and many people playing instruments walked up along the sides of the stage. They all sat in waiting chairs playing a melody. Then four people jumped up from the back of the stage. They wore baggy colourful clothes and costumes and wore masks.

They started to dance and Itachi realised it was a traditional dance. He watched in curiosity. The four did an odd dance but were quite good. The drums started up in a soft rhythm and the four dancers slid to the side where they slid off the stage. Then in a burst of flame a woman appeared. She wore a costume more beautiful then the others. She had loose baggy red pants, and a baggy orange tube top that fell just above her belly button. She wore no slippers, only bare feet. Around her ankles were bells and bracelets. The same with her arms. She also had sashes draped over her and tied to her. They were in all different colors. All her costume was decorated in beads and bells that twinkled with each move. Her hair was a raven black but the ends were purple with silver. She wore a cat mask that covered the top half of her face, nose up.

In the little light she looked absolutely stunning. She started bowed low and everyone watched in wonder. She started to rise slowly with the music before she started to dance. Her moves were all perfect and very graceful. She flowed through the dance like water, not making a mistake, or even flinching once. Everyone watched, captured by her dance. The small jingle of the beads and bells was just loud enough to be heard over the other instruments and was almost a tune itself, like she was moving to just make the music. Her sashes arched out and spun around her, flying just above her skin and never stopping. Her hair fanned out but never got in her face. Her feet hit the wood stage without making a sound.

Itachi just watched in the same awe as everyone else. His eyes widened as her hands moved in very fast hand signs. Even with his Sharingan, which he had flicked on, he couldn't make them out. Some water from a pail he hadn't noticed before fell onto stage. To his surprise it took the form of two cats which moved in the dance with her, which earned awe's. Itachi had seen a jutsu make water take the shape of sharks, but never anything else. He watched the cats and wondered how she controlled them so well while dancing. He watched though in silence. She surprised him once again as after about five minutes she started to sing. She started to sing in another language and he guessed it was that of another country. Her voice was likes chimes in the wind and nightingales. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever heard.

She continued to dance and sing. The cats, every once in a while, would climb on her and seem to flow with her. After about fifteen minutes she threw her hands up and hit her last note. The cats leapt off her shoulders. They collided above her head and burst into drops of water that spiralled around the girl to hit the ground and burst out like sparks. Itachi wondered how she had done that. Then the girl twirled and landed in her final position. The music faded away leaving the place in silence. After a minutes everyone burst into cheers and clapping. It lasted about five minutes as the girl bowed and walked off of stage. A man walked onto the stage and waited for silence.

"That was the traditional dance of our village and the real start of our festival. That was our newest dancer Kagome."

More applause and whistling.

"Enjoy the night!"

With that a few fireworks went off and everyone burst into chatter and walked back down the streets to the booths. Itachi met with Pein and walked beside him and Konan. He noted that Konan wore a kimono and Pein wore a yukata. They walked in silence a moment. As Konan walked off to a booth the two watched.

"So is that what you came to see?" Itachi asked.

"Yes. That is the best part of the festival."

"And that girl does that every year?"

Pein shook his head.

"No. The same dance is done every year but the person changes. It is once in a while a man too. But that is the best I have ever seen it done. That woman even sang to. Most can't remember the whole dance that well let alone the song that is in a rarely used language."

"She was a ninja. She had chakara and she used a jutsu."

"I am curious to how she did that jutsu and controlled the water so well. Just doing a water jutsu with that control is hard, but to do it while dancing and singing is amazing." Pein chuckled.

Itachi nodded.

"Well I'm going off with Konan. Good luck. It seems you already have a fan club."

With that Pein walked off. Itachi glanced to the side to see a couple women staring and smiling at him while batting their lashes. He let out an inaudible sigh. He walked off, knowing they were following him. He rounded a corner and leapt to the roof of a building. He hoped along the roof till he found a street empty of single females. He leapt down and glanced around. Suddenly he saw long black hair with purple and silver tips. The woman was surrounded by three men who were laughing. He walked up to them.

"Come on babe. The dance was wonderful, and you look wonderful. But I'd rather see what you look like under the clothes and in bed." One man said.

The woman scowled at him. Itachi could tell it was the same dancing woman though now she wore a deep purple kimono with silver lilies around the bottom. She looked ticked as the three men surrounded her. The one in the middle looked to be in charge and the other two lackeys. The middle one was smirking like he had already got her in his room. She glanced at him. He saw now that her eyes were a deep blue with wisps of silver and icy blue. She raised a brow at him. He smirked and walked up to the men.

"Excuse me." He said quietly.

The three whipped around to face him.

"Please leave my date alone."

They all scowled.

"Well buddy, she's about to dump your ass to come with me." The middle one smirked again.

Itachi just looked at him blankly. The man started to sweat under his gaze. Then Itachi let his sharingan activate. The man starred at his eyes open mouthed. Then in the blink of an eye Itachi was past them and holding his arm out for the woman. She smirked up at him in a grateful sort of way and took his arm. They walked past the men. The middle man snapped his fingers and the two others advanced on Itachi. Itachi didn't even pull away from the woman. He just lashed out with his foot. The first dropped soon followed by the other. Itachi led the woman over them and down the street.

"Thanks." She said.

"I just spared them the pain you would have given them." He smirked.

"So you knew I was close to wasting them?"

"Of course… I'm Itachi."

"I'm Kagome. And if you look back you can see ten women glaring at me."

"I have a bit of a fan girl problem."

"Same with me, but with fan boys."

He smirked. He looked at her.

"That dance was…captivating."

"Thank you. I always liked dancing."

"And that jutsu was stunning as well."

She looked up at him.

"So you know now I'm a ninja. That jutsu was one of my own. My affinity is water."

He looked her over.

"We should spar sometime."

She smirked and gave a nod.

"What village are you from?" She asked.

"Konohagakure. You?"

"I grew up in earth but left before becoming gennin. I wandered and earned my ranks in other villages. I stay in no village long."

"Why?"

"Most don't appeal to me."

He smirked.

"So want to act as my date?" She smiled.

He gave a curt nod. He had talked more then usual with her. It puzzled him why he was so open with her. He shook the thought off and let Kagome lead him to a game booth. He stood there and watched as she played. She walked back to him giggling as she showed him the small silk purse she had won. She hung it on her wrist and they walked off. They wandered stopping at random booths and stopping to let people congratulate her. After an hour they walked towards a candy booth. He watched and stayed silent again as she got a candy apple. They walked off as she chatted and ate.

They seemed perfect together. She talked on and didn't expect him to talk at all as if she was used to a silent partner. She munched on her apple and purred in satisfaction. He glanced at her. She grinned up at him and offered him the apple. He did something he never had once done or usually wouldn't. He took a bite right where she had. He was a bit out of it, and hadn't even thought this counted as an indirect kiss.

"OH MY FUCKING JASHIN! What the fuck was that! Fucking Itachi with a woman! And he even fucking ate some candy with her!" Came a voice.

Itachi and Kagome glanced back at a gaping Deidara and Hidan.

"Hey! It's the fucking woman who kicked me!"

They both smirked at him.

"How did Itachi get such a hot woman, un?" Deidara pouted.

Itachi smirked again and licked the caramel off his lips. Deidara's eye twitched. Kisame walked up beside them and starred at Itachi. Itachi just grabbed Kagome's arm and led her off. She followed and giggled at the same time. They walked off and she resumed talking. Suddenly she stopped and awed at a hair ornament that was shown as a prize in a knife throwing booth. Itachi smirked and walked up. The man grinned and gave him three knives pointing out the target.

Itachi picked the knife up and looked it over. He smirked inwardly. The knife end was bent so if it hit the target it wouldn't stay in the target, and the knife was very dull. Itachi just picked the knife up by the tip and whipped it at the target. It buried all the way up to the hilt in the wall. Itachi didn't even pause before tossing the other knives. The man starred at the three knives clustered in the bull's-eye. He took the hair thing and handed it to Kagome who gave him a large smile. She gathered her hair up and tucked the ornament in.

Itachi then realized he had played an idiotic game just to get this woman something she wanted. He had never done anything that benefited others….well rarely. He shook the thoughts off, caught in the moment. They walked off again. As the hours wore by Itachi warmed up to her, though he didn't show it. Near the end they stopped at a bar and downed some sake. After three drinks he saw Kagome already getting drunk. He realized she didn't have very much tolerance for alcohol. He got the name of her inn out of her and led her off to her inn. As they arrived Kagome giggled and scowled at the same time. The three guys from before, sat in front of the place by her bags. They grinned as they saw her coming up.

"Seems you turned down the wrong guy babe. My father owns the place and I'm allowed to kick people out. Unless you spend the night with me you'll be sleeping in the streets, because everywhere else is full."

Kagome sneered at them and looked ready to punch them, but the alcohol just made her stumble a bit. She grabbed her two bags

"I can camp out."

Then she turned and walked off. Itachi smirked at the three surprised men and walked up to Kagome. He took the bags and walked off. Kagome blinked.

"You can stay the night with me."

She glanced at him with narrowed eyes.

"I don't mean have sex."

She relaxed and giggled at him. They walked off as she chatted on again. Her words where a bit slow though and she looked to have to concentrate hard on walking straight. He shook his head. She was luck he wasn't some one to take advantage of her drunken state. But then again if she was a ninja she could probably still put up a fight even being drunk. They finally arrived at his inn and walked in. Itachi led her up the stairs to his room and opened the door. She walked in and he shut the door behind him. He set her bags down and pointed her to the bed. She giggled and flopped down like a three year old. Itachi just shook his head in amusement. He opened his mouth to tell her to change when he heard her even breathing signifying she was asleep.

He sighed and moved over to her. He untied her obi and slipped her kimono off. Luckily she had a tank top on underneath with her undergarments. She should be thankful he wasn't one to be easily tempted, because without most of her clothes she was even more stunning, and he was aroused. He pulled the covers over her and sighed again. Itachi changed into some long pyjama bottoms. Then he threw his yukata to the chair with his bag. He walked to the bed and slid under the covers on the opposite side of the bed. Kagome didn't even twitch. He stroked her hair a second enjoying the feel of it before he rolled over and fell into slumber.

.--.

Deidara yawned and pulled his bag on to his back. Sasori stood beside him grumbling about waiting. Kakuzu stood in the hall waiting to. Hidan was pretty much asleep on his feet but was still mumbling about hangovers. Kisame stumbled from his room and when a newly emerged Tobi chirped hello, Kisame smacked him in the head yelling about his headache and not being so loud. Deidara smirked. He knew Kisame and Hidan had drank themselves into a stupor last night. Everyone had had a few drinks. He had even seen Itachi drinking with that girl.

Deidara sighed at the memory. It was unfair that Itachi had picked up the hot dancing girl without much trouble at all. Itachi never had to try and he had girls flocking over him. It ticked Deidara off. He grumbled under his breath about stupid weasels and chicks. Sasori must have heard because he smirked at him. Deidara glared at him. Sasori didn't have trouble picking women up either. Neither did Hidan. Deidara admitted he didn't have much trouble either, but he attracted just as many guys, and that really ticked him off, because they thought he was a girl. Zetsu walked up beside a cheerful Tobi and stood talking to himself. Pein stumbled from his room looking a bit tired but quite cheerful.

"Did someone wake Itachi yet?" He asked.

Everyone shook their head negative.

"Well someone grab him."

Everyone looked over at Deidara and smirked. He wanted to kill them.

"Deidara can do it." Hidan said.

"Good idea. Deidara and Hidan can wake him." Pein nodded. "I'll wake Konan."

Deidara snickered at Hidan, whose plan had back fired. No one liked to wake Itachi because he was unpredictable and dangerous. He had even decapitated Hidan once when he had been in a foul mood. Deidara and Hidan walked to his room and knocked. They got no answer so they slowly opened the door. They glanced in and saw that he was still in his bed, curled under the covers. They stepped in. Hidan called his name and cursed under his breath when Itachi didn't stir. Deidara got up his courage and walked over. He poked the Uchiha, who was literally buried under the covers. He got no response.

"Get up Itachi, un." He grumbled.

No reply.

"He's doing this on purpose, I know it, un." Deidara scowled.

Hidan just snickered and walked up. He ripped the sheet back before Deidara could stop him. Hidan went to say something and froze. Deidara froze too. The two starred at the person in the bed. It was a woman. It was the woman who had kicked Hidan, and had been with Itachi the night before. The dancing girl. She only wore a white tank top, and her underwear. She was curled up and her hair fanned out. Hidan dropped the sheet. Deidara glanced to the bathroom door to see it was now closed and if you listened you could hear running water.

"Oops, un." He said.

Hidan just turned and walked out the door. Deidara followed his example. They shut the door and turned back to the others who where watching in curiosity.

"Didn't you get him?" Kakuzu asked.

"He's showering, un." Deidara muttered.

He was quite red at the moment, from seeing a practically naked hot girl.

"So what did you see?" Sasori asked with a smirk.

"Nothing…un." Deidara said.

"You wouldn't be blushing if you hadn't seen anything." Tobi chirped.

"And if you saw Itachi naked and are blushing like that, you're gay." Konan said blankly.

Hidan and Kisame started to laugh as Deidara glared at her.

"No we didn't see Itachi naked, un." He scowled.

"But we did see that dancing girl half naked on his fucking bed." Hidan grinned.

It took a minute for the words to sink in.

"Itachi picked up the dancing girl from last night?" Pein asked in disbelief.

"I heard she punched the day lights out of ten guys only five minutes after the dance because they made moves on her." Konan smirked.

"Yeah well we saw them together last night, un." Deidara said.

"So he got laid." Kisame grinned. "He hasn't gotten laid in a long time."

"Really?" Sasori asked.

"Yeah. Everywhere we go girls are all over him, but he just pushes them away." Kisame smirked.

"She was still half dressed, un." Deidara muttered.

"I didn't have sex with her."

Everyone nearly jumped at the voice. They looked over to see Itachi walking from his room, bag on his back, and cloak draped over her arm.

"She was drunk and her inn keeper was one of the men she refused so he kicked her out." Itachi said in a blank tone.

"So you were a gentleman and brought her back here." Pein grinned.

Itachi nodded.

"She was fucking drunk and owed you, and you didn't fucking take advantage of that?" Hidan asked in disbelief.

Itachi just snorted and walked past them towards the door. Pein just shrugged. Hidan looked a bit confused and Kisame sighed. The others followed and soon they were out and on their way.

.--.

Kagome woke slowly with a large head ache. She groaned.

"I still have no alcohol tolerance at all."

Then she sat straight up.

"All I remember was the black haired man."

She glanced around and saw she wasn't in her hotel room. She frowned. She sighed in relief as she realized she was still half dressed. She used her miko powers to heal her headache and stood. She saw a note on the nightstand and grabbed it quickly.

_Kagome,_

_I had to leave earlier. Your stuff is on the chair. I did not take advantage of you. If you can't remember the man you refused last night kicked you out of his inn. I brought you back to my room. The key is by your bags. Please return it to the inn keeper._

_Itachi_

"Seems he writes as much as he talks." She snorted.

She saw her bags and the key.

"Shower first." She sighed.

She went into the bathroom and had a quick shower. When that was done she dried her hair and pulled on some black cargo pants and a deep purple t-shirt. She grabbed her two bags. She let her miko powers surround them and whispered a chant. They glowed blue before they shrunk to the size of a bracelet. She smirked. She loved that trick. She took her necklace off which held her two shrunken swords, and a few other bobbles. She strung her bags on and pulled her necklace back on.

She glanced around and grabbed her key. She wondered if she could catch up to Itachi. She owed him a bit and she had noticed last night his eyes were bad. And they seemed to be getting worse. She could heal them easily with her miko powers. She sighed. As she was about to leave she saw something on the bed. It was a ring. She picked it up gently and examined it. It was a smooth polished red. It looked expensive. It also had a kanji on it but Kagome didn't bother to read it.

"It's not mine…it must be Itachi's."

She walked from the room. She gave the inn keeper the key and headed out the door. She was stopped down the road a couple times and congratulated on her fabulous dance. She said goodbye to the few people she had befriended before grabbing an apple. She quickly ate the apple. Then she sniffed around for Itachi's scent. She caught it and smirked. She hurried to the edge of the village and when no one was looking change into her jaguar form. She let out a purr of content. She loved her cat form and was quite comfortable in it.

She took off running across the ground following the scent of Itachi and nine others. They had left no tracks to trace of them, but with her sense of smell she could easily track them. She wondered how they would take a large cat running up to them. She also wondered why Itachi was in such a large group. He hadn't seemed like the social type. On top of all of that she wondered why Itachi wasn't in any village or such, because he was strong; she had sensed that. She decided to ask later and took off faster. She need to catch up, and the ten where moving quite quickly.

.--.

The Akatsuki all slowed as they reached their base. It was dinner time. They had made good miles. They moved towards the front door of the large mansion, their base, when suddenly, Zetsu looked back.

"**I think something is coming."** His dark side said.

Everyone slid into fighting position, ready for anything. Everything was silent but they could all faintly sense a presence now. They only had to wait three minutes before the bushes behind them shook. They starred at the large jaguar that walked from the bush. The jaguar easily reached Itachi's waist while on all fours. It was a deep purple almost black but Itachi saw silver in its coat. It also had silver claws and almost silver teeth. The insides of its ears were silver and the end of its tail was also tipped with silver. Its eyes were deep blue flecked with icy blue and silver. Itachi squinted. The eyes looked familiar.

They all waited for it to attack or do something. It let out a purr like sigh. They all blinked. It lumbered forwards with grace, even cats shouldn't have. Everyone tensed. It growled at Hidan and the others. Hidan scowled at it. Itachi saw his hand grip his scythe and twirl it to his front. Hidan didn't wait any longer and lunged at the cat. Everyone backed up a step. They weren't surprised he had attacked. He usually attacked first asked questions later. They were quite surprised though, as Hidan's attack missed the cat. The cat growled a laugh as if amused.

Hidan snarled and lunged forwards again launching into a string off attacks. The cat dodged each one with skill. It was almost a blur. Hidan was getting frustrated, they could all tell. Then suddenly he was knocked back into a tree, dropping his scythe. He looked at the cat in disbelief. Itachi had faintly seen that the cat had lashed out with its hind legs while spinning. Its kick had nailed Hidan in the chest and had enough strength to throw him back. The cat picked the scythe up in its teeth and threw it behind it.

Pein motioned Deidara forwards. Deidara shot forwards his cloak on the ground abandoned, his hands already holding clay. He kicked out as a distraction. The cat dodged and watched in confusion as Deidara threw the two clay birds at it. The birds flew at it and dived for its head. The jaguar seemed to sense the danger a second to late. It rolled to the side but the bombs hit its side. In a cry of fury and pain it skid on its side across the ground to the edge of the clearing. Deidara grinned manically ready to throw another bomb.

But everyone stopped and gaped openly as the cat licked its wound. The wound glowed a soft blue and healed. Everyone was a bit stunned. While they did the cat vanished in a blur or purple. Itachi had his katana out ready to attack as the jaguar appeared in front of him. They stood two feet apart, ready to attack. Then the cat grinned. Itachi scowled softly. The cat walked forwards and Itachi didn't move since he felt no ill intention. Then the cat rolled its eyes and nudged his hand. Itachi raised a brow but slowly held out a hand. The cat opened his mouth and let something drop in his hands. Itachi starred at his Akatsuki ring. It was slightly slobbered on, but that didn't mater. He hadn't even noticed he had lost it. Pein also looked at it then Itachi, scowling.

"Those are expensive."

"I told you it is too large for my finger." Itachi said blankly.

Everyone just starred at them as Itachi wiped the ring off and slid it on his finger. The cat smirked.

"Kagome sent you?" He wondered.

The cat smirked like it knew something he didn't.

"Hey cat we aren't done, un!" Deidara pouted.

The cat looked at him.

"I want to finish fighting you, un."

The cat gave a grin, showing his fangs off. Deidara gulped. In a flash the cat was gone. A second later Deidara was on his back. The cat sat half on his chest. It growled and barred its fangs as if going for his throat. It jumped back though as Samehade swept over Deidara, where the cat had been. Deidara just pouted more and backed up to the others letting a grinning Kisame take over.

"We can't let it live now that it known where our base is. It's lucky that it even got through the genjutsu barrier somehow." Pein said.

"Hear that kitty? Time to sleep." Kisame grinned.

He lunged at the cat which danced back. Then Kisame froze. Everyone else did to. The cat had stared to transform. It changed into a woman. The woman Itachi had stayed with the night before, Kagome. They starred. Kagome pulled something off of a necklace she wore. The item glowed blue like her wound had and enlarged into a huge metal sword, bigger then Samehade. They starred. Kagome held the weapon in one hand and flicked her hair over her shoulder with the other.

"Come at me fish boy." She sneered.

Kisame scowled not waiting another second. He lunged at her his sword arching for her. The two swords met with the sound of grinding metal and even a few sparks. The two launched into a swordsman battle and everyone made sure to get clear out of the way.

"Itachi was that a henge?" Sasori asked as he watched the woman.

"No. That was a full change. The cat was a cat, and now the woman is a woman."

"Interesting." Pein smirked. "First that wonderful dancing, the jutsu, the tracking, then the fight with Hidan and Deidara, and now this."

Everyone watched the battle closely. Kisame for once seemed to be loosing. They had locked blades. And Kisame didn't seem to be able to use his size against the woman. She seemed to actually be pushing him back. He jumped back and the woman swung her blade. With a cry he flew back, hit by a blast of wind. He hit a large tree and sent a crack racing up it.

"She had so much power in that swipe the air pressure hit Kisame sending him back." Pein mused.

Kagome rested the large blade on one shoulder and grinned.

"Take that Sharky." She grinned

Everyone stayed silent as Kisame picked himself up and leaned himself against his Samehade. He gave a shaky laugh.

"You're even better then me with your sword."

"This isn't my favourite sword. It used to belong to a mercenary I knew. It's called Banryuu. My favourite sword is actually a pair my brother gave me." She smiled.

"Kagome." Itachi called.

Her ears twitched. It was now they realized she still had the jaguar ears and tail. The tail was twitching while the ears pointed towards Itachi, listening.

"What are you doing here?"

"Returning your ring, and to return the favour of helping me last night, by healing your eyes."

There was silence.

"You can heal his eyes?" Pein asked.

"We've asked some of the best medics and they said even the Godaime wouldn't be able to heal them." Itachi said.

"Correct, chakara can't heal them." She smirked. "But I have something other then chakara."

There was silence. Kagome walked up to Itachi and gently set her sword down. She slowly put her hands on either side of his head.

"Please switch you red eyes off."

"It's called the sharingan."

She blinked and her hands started to glow blue.

"Didn't the Ucha or Uciwa clan or something have those?"

His eyes twitched.

"The Uchiha clan." He said.

"So are you the last one or something?"

"No. My brother is still alive, I killed the rest."

She paused a moment then continued to do what ever it was she was doing. Everyone watched as the blue powers seemed to sink into Itachi's skin. Itachi closed his eyes. The blue made them feel cool, yet clean. He waited five minutes until he felt her move her hands. When she did he opened his eyes. He blinked. Then he blinked again. He looked at her and looked her over closely. Then he glanced around taking in the sight of the clear mansion and other nine people. Pein smirked.

"Well that is a benefit."

Kagome just glanced around. Her eyes landed on their cloaks.

"So you guys are the Akatsuki, huh. Small world. I've been looking for you guys."

They all blinked.

"I wish to join."

"You're in."

Everyone starred openly at Pein. He hadn't let anyone join that fast before.

"She has already proven her medic skills and we needed a healer. And she beat Hidan and Deidara and Kisame."

"If they had been full out fights I would have won." Hidan, Kisame, and Deidara grumbled.

Pein just shrugged and smirked.

"Welcome to Akatsuki Kagome."

Kagome grinned. Pein motioned everyone inside. They hurried in except for Konan, who stayed next to Pein, Itachi, and Tobi. Tobi first skipped up to Kagome and stuck his hand out.

"Tobi is Tobi. Tobi is a good boy."

Kagome smiled and took his hand letting him shake it enthusiastically. Then Tobi skipped in. Pein smirked at Itachi.

"Itachi can show you to a room."

Then he walked in, Konan following. Itachi looked at Kagome a moment then walked inside. He headed down the hall.

"Any thing you would like in a room?" He asked.

"Well a big bed, and windows."

Itachi nodded and walked up the first flight of stairs. He led Kagome down the end of the hall to the end of the house. He picked a room that was right in the corner of the upstairs of the house. He opened the door and let Kagome look in.

.--.

Kagome looked in and grinned. The room was large. It had a large bed against the closest wall. There was a large walk in closet. There was a small nightstand by the bed. The floor was wood. Across the room was a large window. There was also a door leading to a bathroom containing a large bath. The bathroom was a yellow and the room was a deep forest green. She grinned at Itachi.

"This is the top floor. The first floor contains the kitchen, living room, library, and pool."

"There's a pool?"

"There are only ten of us in a mansion. We had more then enough room for the pool."

Kagome just giggled.

"Sasori, Deidara, Konan, Pein, Zetsu, and I have our rooms on this floor. Hidan, Kisame, and Kakuzu have theirs in the basement."

Kagome gave a nod. Then Itachi turned and walked off. Kagome slid into her room. She walked to the closet. She set her Banryuu down inside. Then she undid her necklace and let everything enlarge. She took her first bag and took out all the clothes she had, hanging them up. Then she gently set her two swords from Sesshomaru on a shelf. She also took a few other weapons she had and stuck them on the shelves in the closet. Then she took her last bag and shoved it in a drawer. The second bag was the one Sesshomaru had given her. It was his goodbye gift. It contained rare jewels and gold. Enough to last her a long time. Kagome just sighed in a silent thanks. The money had come in handy.

When she had arrived, she had returned to her old home. She was part of the Higurashi clan. But she was the last. So the Higurashi compound was empty. It had only been used by some passing by travellers. The Higurashi had stayed deep in the mountains in earth country. They had all had the same ability as her, but could change into a variety of large cats. There had been tigers, lions, cheetahs, lynxes, you name it. But most had been killed in the war. So the compound was rightfully hers. Before she had jumped down the well she had taken everything of value and locked it in the tunnels under the compound. No one had touched it.

Kagome just shook the thoughts off. She grabbed her wallet from her first bag. She had already exchanged some of the jewels for money and had grabbed some from her old compound. She grabbed a purse/bag and stuffed the wallet and a few things in it. She shrunk Banryuu and stuffed it in her purse/bag too. She had collected the weapon a year ago along with many more weapons from her strong opponents that had died. She knew they wouldn't mind she was using them.

Kagome sighed softly and moved back to her room. She walked back out of her room. She sniffed the air softly. Being able to change into a jaguar did lots to her senses. Now she had permanent cat hearing, smelling, and even good sight as them sometimes. She followed the smell of food down the stairs to the kitchen. She grinned as she stepped in. Sasori and Pein were conversing as they ate some ramen they had made. They looked up as Kagome walked in.

"Do you mind if I go to town?" She asked.

"Do you know where it is?" Pein asked.

"I have a map of the country. Besides that I have good sense of smell and hearing so I should find it all right."

"Okay. And here."

He tossed her a ring. It was the same as Itachi's but with a different kanji for innocence. She slid it onto her finger. It was a bit large. She added her miko powers and it shrunk to fit her. The two stared.

"What kind of powers where those?" Pein asked.

Kagome just smirked at him.

"This allows me in and out of the genjutsu correct?"

"Hai. How did you get in before?"

"Well your scent disappeared right at it and I have found a similar thing to this before. Not the same but similar so I got in the same way as always which is my secret. Don't worry, no one else will be able to get in the way I did."

The two just watched her a minute then shrugged. Kagome pulled a drawer open and pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen. She waved and walked out the door. Once outside she clicked the pen and wrote a hasty list of what she needed. She sniffed the air. The whole place smelled of the ten Akatsuki. Most left in many different directions. But the trail used the most she took. She followed it for ten minutes at a run till she reached the genjutsu barrier. It opened as she neared and she ducked out. Before she had used her miko powers to force it open. She picked up the pace noticing it was at least dinner time and she didn't have much daylight left.

She arrived at the town about half an hour later. It was a fairly large one and wasn't a ninja one. Kagome walked down the fairly busy streets. She stopped at a plant store and bought a bunch of pots and tools and some seeds. The clerk watched her leave with a towering armful. When she was out of sight she shrunk them all and stuffed them gently in her bag. She moved one stopping at various stores buying various things. When she was done she sighed happily and set of to find a ramen bar. She fund one quite easily and sat down to order. As she received her food she gulped it down. When she finished her ramen she paid the man and left.

She hurried back down the trail towards the Akatsuki mansion. As she reached the barrier she slowed to a walk. As she walked she picked various herbs she saw and pulled a basket, that she had specially for herbs, from her bag. She unshrunk it and pilled the herbs in. She hummed happily as she did so. She also collected certain seeds and such. She could also turn a full grown plant back into a seed. She had learned that from Youko Kurama, one of Sesshomaru's good friends. He had taught her much about gardening. She made her way around for a good half an hour doing that till her basket and arms were full. When she was done that she was quite close to the mansion. She walked in and up to her room avoiding most of the others. When she reached her room she locked herself in and started to work.

When she was finished she stepped back and admired her work. The closet was now all done up. She had a whole wall set up with her weapons and such and the other wall had all her shelves and clothes. She had got a few outfits while in town and they were set up with her other ones. She stepped from her closet and examined the rest of the room. She had made the bathroom a little more personal but otherwise left it alone. The rest of her room though she had changed. She had painted her walls. She had left the back as green but painted plants all over them and trees with fairies and pixies flying around.

Then she had planted a whole bunch of plants in the pots setting them everywhere. The ceiling was almost non-visible. She had a whole bunch of hanging plants and she had made hooks on the ceiling to hold the dangling stems and leaves up. The one wall by the window also had a lot of hops and climbing vines all over it. Then there were some large tree like plants against the other walls and at the end of her bed. She had let her miko power surround the room so no scents would get out and all the plants inside wouldn't die and if need be could feed off of her surrounding powers.

She grinned. She glanced out the window to see the sun had set. She yawned and then moved to her bed. She transformed as she walked so when she reached her bed she was a cat. She leapt onto her bed and scratched the blankets into a nest like thing. Then she curled up and wrapped her tail around herself before yawning and drifting off.

.--.

Tobi skipped down the halls. It was a little after dawn. Suddenly he stopped to think.

"Tobi could make everyone breakfast." He said to no one.

Then he sighed.

"But Tobi can't cook. Kakuzu wouldn't cook unless for money, Hidan wouldn't cook period, Deidara would just say Tobi's annoying and toss bombs at Tobi if Tobi went to wake him up, Sasori won't cook, Kisame would threaten Tobi again, Zetsu doesn't know how to cook, no one bothers Konan, or Pein gets mad, Pein doesn't like to be bothered, and Itachi is too scary."

He sighed again. Then an idea popped into his head.

"Tobi will ask Kagome!"

With that he hurried down the hall to Kagome's room. He knocked softly but got no answer. He cracked the door open and peered in. He gasped at what he saw. The room was covered in plants. Hey covered the ceiling, and most of the walls. And the parts of the walls that weren't painted were painted like plants. Tobi stood in awe a moment. Then he noticed that the bed pretty much had vines draped around it like a curtain. He stepped in looking around. He left the door open and stepped in farther.

He moved towards the bed and curtain of plants around it to see if Kagome was sleeping. When he was three feet in front of the bed he stopped. His feet were stuck. He looked down and gasped. The vines from the wall had slithered over to him and wrapped around his legs. He squeaked and went to pull them away. He glanced up at some rustling and saw the vines from the ceiling and around Kagome's bed coming at him really fast like striking snakes. Tobi couldn't help but let a scream out.

.--.

Itachi sat straight up at the scream. He had his pyjamas pants onon so he just shot out the door to investigate. He had heard it come from Kagome's room. As he hurried down he almost ran into Sasori and Deidara coming from another hall. They all skid to a stop and looked at one another.

"You heard the scream, un?" Deidara asked.

Itachi and Sasori gave curt nods. They glanced at Kagome's room to see the door cracked open. They slowly walked forwards and pushed it open. They gaped as they looked in. The room resembled a jungle. It had plants everywhere. And the scariest thing was the plant where moving like they were alive.

"Deidara, help Tobi!" Came a voice.

They all looked to the ceiling and saw Tobi fighting the vines off. He was pretty much swallowed by all the vines on the ceiling.

"How in the hell did Kagome get these plants in here, and how the hell are they moving, un." Deidara asked ignoring Tobi's pleas for help.

Sasori walked to a vine and poked it. It was the wrong thing to do. A second later the vines were going for them. They used their ninja skills to flip away but when surrounded there is no where safe. And the door had been shut and covered in vines. Deidara cried out as a vine grabbed his leg and jerked him up. It lifted him towards the ceiling upside down. Deidara pulled a kuni out and went to cut the vine but another wrapped around his arm and squeezed it so he dropped the knife.

Sasori was caught next by his arms. Then Itachi's feet got caught. Deidara was soon next to Tobi on the ceiling, stuck. Sasori had been forced to the back wall and vines had wrapped around his legs, arms, and neck. Itachi had been dragged to the plants surrounding the bed. He fought hard and nearly got away once only to fall back on the bed. The curtain vines held him down to the bed since they couldn't drag him very far. The four fought but it was no use. After five minutes they gave up.

"Kagome better get here soon. And she's better be able to command the plants, un." Deidara pouted.

Just then the bathroom door, which had been hidden by vines on the wall, opened. The vines slithered away letting Kagome, who was wearing some black cargo pants and a purple shirt, walk out. Her hair was in a braid and still a bit wet. She looked up and laughed. She gave them all a sly smirk.

"Seems my pets caught you."

"Pets, un?!" Deidara asked in disbelief.

Kagome smirked.

"So who do we have here?"

She glanced at them all.

"Tobi, Deidara, Sasori, and... Itachi, strapped to my bed."

Kagome walked over to her bed where the curtain vines, not busy holding Itachi down, moved out of the way. She looked straight down at him upside down. She smirked down at him. He glared up at her. She put her face very close to his as the others watched.

"You shouldn't come in to other people's rooms without permission or they will punish you." She whispered in his ear.

He tensed up much to the amusement of the others. Kagome straightened and snapped her fingers. Sasori stumbled from the wall, Itachi jumped up, and Deidara and Tobi fell from the ceiling.

"I'm going back to bed." Sasori said.

With that he was gone. Deidara grumbled and left too. Itachi glanced at the plants once more then left.

.--.

Tobi just panted a moment.

"Tobi did knock." He said.

Kagome just laughed.

"What did you need?" She asked kindly.

"Tobi was wondering if you would make breakfast. Tobi can't cook and no one else will."

"Sure I'll cook."

Tobi gave a cheer and grabbed her hand before dragging her to the kitchen. She laughed and started to cook while Tobi watched and did anything she asked him to. After half an hour she clapped her hands together and smiled.

"Okay Tobi you go wake the others."

Tobi gave an enthusiastic nod and shot from the room. Kagome just laughed and sat at the table starting to eat.


	3. Dark Tournament 2 Part 1: Crossover

Kagome's POV:

I looked over the edge. I yearned to jump in. My whole soul wished to fall through the blue light to the feudal era. I wished with all my being to fight demons and travel with my friends. A tear ran down my face. But I couldn't do any of that. The well had sealed. It had been half a week since it had closed. We had killed Naraku after three years. Yes, it had been three years. I had fallen down the well at fifteen, but I was no longer a weak, naïve child. I was a strong sensible teen almost adult.

Three years in the past had taught me so much. I could survive in the wilderness with nothing for years, I could track almost anything, and I was strong mentally and physically. After a year of living there, always being protected by my friends, I had learned I had to fight for myself or I would die. At sixteen Kikyo joined us. I had taken this as a gift rather then a curse. I had known by then that Inuyasha would never love me. I left my group and ran off to train. I went to Kouga. He taught me speed, stamina, and hand to hand combat. He also taught me hunting, tracking, and how to communicate with wolves. I loved the wolf part. I could understand and talk to wolves, I could summon them, and I could control them if I really need to but I rarely did the last because it would be forceful.

I had also found out during my stay that Kouga was planning to mate with Ayame. He had given up his love for me. I was happy for him. I had grown tired of him chasing me. Well after I had left Kouga I went to Totosi. He made me weapons and sent me to a demon swordsman. He taught me all about knives, daggers, and swords. I had caught on very quickly. Well I thanked my new friends and went back to Totosi's. I stayed for a couple weeks. I had learned how to do a lot of stuff in a smith. I also learned how to sharpen and care for my own weapons along with how to make weapons.

Then I had seen Sesshomaru. He had come to Totosi to ask for a blade. He had become a bit less evil over the year and Totosi actually agreed. While he waited he had focused on me. For the three days Totosi had made his blade Sesshomaru had watched me train by myself and practice all my skills. Then he had told me he would train me more on other things. It had come as a surprise but a good one.

Well I had trained with Sesshomaru learning the whip, more hand to hand combat and etiquette. Etiquette might not seem important but he taught me how to act around demon nobility along with human nobility. He introduced me to the other lords and ladies and such too. It had helped a lot when we travelled to their lands later. Well over the period of time I spent with Sesshomaru I also saw a lot of Rin and Jaken. Jaken even shut up for once and taught me how to use the staff without Sesshomaru ordering him too.

Then I had met with Sesshomaru's generals and learned the mace, scythe, axe, and a bunch of useful tricks and skills. When I had been taught everything I had said goodbye. Shockingly before I left Sesshomaru had made me his sister. It had been a ceremony where I had cut up my arm with a blade. He had done the same. Then we had pressed the wounds together letting our blood seep together. We had caught the falling blood in a bowl and then each drank half of our mixed blood. It had been gross but hey what the hell I was just honoured to be a part of the ceremony. He had also weighed me down with weapons and armour before sending me on my way.

Also part of becoming Sesshomaru's sister in blood had changed me. I could then run almost as fast as a demon, I had the strength and stamina of a demon, my senses enhanced, and I had some appearance changes. I got a crescent moon like Sesshomaru's on my forehead, I got magenta stripes on my arms, not my cheeks though, I grew tiny claws and ting fangs. And my ears became pointed. Also an inch on the end of my hair turned silver. I was a demon. I was quite happy with it.

Well I left Sesshomaru with a few tears and moved on to the next training step. I went to a strong miko who taught me how to master my powers and the bow. I did this incredibly fast. Then I left her also. I went on my own journey for a while after that just spending some time alone. I had gone to the mountains in the north. I had travelled through them for a few weeks until I stumbled upon a mansion in the middle of the mountains during a storm. I had met a demoness. I had been wary at first.

Then I found out she was the guardian of the snow peeked mountains. She was a wind sorceress like Kagura but had some ice demon in her blood. She taught me how to listen to the wind. How to catch rumours that floated on it, how to listen as it whispered past me, and how to control it to a small amount. She had given me a fan like Kagura's but it was light blue with a deep blue ice dragon on it. She had taught me how to use it a bit and how to contact wind guardians and wind spirits. It had been very valuable information and I cherished it.

When that was done I finally headed back too my friends. As I passed by Kouga again, though, he made me his sister like Sesshomaru. After I had done that with him I had got blue eyes and a blue stripe added beside my two magenta ones and the crescent moon on my forehead turned blue. I also grew a tail like Kouga's. It was black and fell to my knees. The end was tipped with silver like my hair. I also understood wolves better and they knew I was a leader, like Kouga and gave me respect.

I was now an silver inu and black wolf youkai. I found out that even though I was a sister to Kouga and Sesshomaru; neither would not be a brother to the other. I had been very honoured, and proud. I had left him and thanked him heartily. I had been excited to finally rejoin my friends. I laughed as I remembered their reaction when I had shown up back at their camp after a year and a half of being gone. I would never forget their reactions.

~~FLASHBACK~~

I stepped gently across the forest floor. My footsteps didn't make a sound. I left barely a footprint. I always kept my scent masked with miko powers so I wasn't worried about anyone sensing me. I didn't touch a single leaf as I walked through the bush. I saw the light of a fire and broke into a small clearing. The six companions around the fire reached for their weapons as they saw me. I laughed slightly. Sango had her boomerang ready, Miroku had his hands on his prayer beads, Shippo was ready to use his fox fire, Inuyasha's hand rested on Tetsiaga's hilt, Kikyo had her bow drawn, and Kirara was looking wary.

I guessed they didn't recognize me. Most wouldn't. I had left them as a sixteen year old girl with black hair down to the middle of back, brown eyes, a still developing body, no markings and no weapons. I had been wearing my school uniform and only had a bow and my yellow bag. Now I had a crescent moon on my forehead, three stripes on each arm, two magentas and one blue, I had water blue eyes and a full body with curves in the right places. My hair was even blacker with silver tips and fell past my wait.

I also wore a tight black short sleeved shirt, black snug pants, and a black travelling cloak. I also had 'Wolf Fang' at my side, the sword made for me by Totosi. It was silver with a grey hilt and a black sheath. I also had a small axe, daggers hidden all over, two long knives at my waist, and a black backpack on my back. I had got rid of the attention-drawing yellow one. I had my fan at my waist also. I had a large axe clipped to my bag on one side, and my bow and quiver on the other side. Beside the axe, almost covered by it was also a staff, like Jaken's. Except it was taller fitted for my height. It also had the head of a young woman and the head of a young man and it shot out fire and icy wind. My backpack and weapons attached to the bag were hidden partly by my cloak but I knew they could still see them. I had my tall scythe in hand. I smiled at them.

"Would you mind if a weary traveller stayed the night with you? We are in a dangerous area and I would feel safer with others." I said.

They looked at one another a moment.

"May we ask who you are?" Sango asked.

"Call me Kag." I smiled.

They looked at one another again.

"How can we trust you?" Miroku asked. "We see you are very heavily armed and have the markings of a demon even though we can not sense or smell you."

"I swear on my blood and honour that I will not harm you." I said seriously. "And I carry the weapons because you can never be too careful."

They relaxed a bit.

"Come sit then." Kikyo smiled.

I noticed she had lost some of her hate and anger. I smiled at them all and bowed slightly.

"I thank you."

I set my weapons and bag down. Suddenly Miroku was kneeling in front of me. He clasped my hands and looked into my eyes.

"Will you bare my child?"

Sango narrowed her eyes dangerously and the others snorted.

"Now monk I think I could find a way better mate and father then you."

Sango burst out laughing and the others quickly grew grins while Miroku looked a bit taken back. None the less he got up and returned to sitting by Sango. I could tell they had already eaten. With my enhanced smell I could tell they had had rabbit half an hour ago. I reached into my bag and pulled out an apple. I bit in and looked the others over from under my bangs. I noticed Shippo was sitting with Kirara and starring at my apple wistfully. I smiled slightly. When I turned to look at him he looked away pretending to never had been looking. I dug in my bag and produced a second apple.

"If you wanted one all you had to do was ask."

I held out the apple to him. Shippo's eyes lit up and he took the apple slowly. Then he bowed and said thanks before biting in. I guess this gave the others good impressions of me because they smiled slightly and relaxed more. I saw Shippo eat the apple happily and give a small piece to Kirara. Then suddenly Inuyasha jumped into a tree with Kikyo. I saw Kikyo close her eyes and snuggle up to the hanyou. I saw Miroku lean against a tree and Sango sit beside him resting her head on his shoulder. Finally Shippo curled up with Kirara. I smiled and also leaned against a tree. I noticed Inuyasha watched me closely but not obviously. I just smiled again and drifted off to sleep.

--

I sat up slowly. I looked up at the tree. The just rising sun shone through all the leaves in the tree. Shippo was up with Kirara. The two had already collected some fish and started the fire. I smiled. They had grown independent and more mature. Sango was just stirring and Miroku was also awake watching Shippo and Kirara. Inuyasha was awake too. He was stoking Kikyo's hair. Kikyo herself was still snuggled up to him, gripping his shirt in a fist. I smiled and sat up more. We waited for the fish silently. By the time it had finished cooking everyone was awake and around the fire. I smiled and took a fish from Shippo who smiled at me. We ate in silence. When we had finished we all stood up and stretched. Everyone grabbed their things and we got ready to go. I cleared my throat while we stood. They all waited while looking at me.

"I was wondering if I could travel with you." I said.

They all looked at one another.

"Sure." Kikyo and Sango chorused.

"Feh." Inuyasha said.

"One of our companions is away at the moment but she will be returning later." Shippo said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said.

"If she isn't dead." Inuyasha added.

He looked sad at his own words.

"You are worried about her?" I asked.

"Yes." He said. "She was weak and I'm guessing she died alone, killed by a demon."

I had learned to control my emotions a lot with Sesshomaru, only giving away the emotions I wished and keeping a tight rein on the others. Before I would have 'sat' him, but now I just smirked inwardly.

"She is fine Inuyasha."

Everyone nodded then froze. They slowly looked up at me.

"We didn't tell you any of our names." Miroku said quietly.

I smiled again inwardly. They were still sharp.

"Are you one of Naraku's?" Inuyasha snarled pulling his Tetsiaga free. "It would make sense. You know our names, you hide your scent, you are beyond armed, and you are trying to get close to us."

They all jumped back and got ready for battle.

"I go beyond armed because it is a dangerous time we live in, I hide my scent so you will not be startled, and I know your names because I knew you before."

They looked confused at the last part.

"Who are you really?" Kikyo asked.

"Just who I appear to be." I said.

"Give us more information." Sango said.

"I can not give you more information then you already know." I said.

They seemed to get more confused by the minute.

"What is your real name?" Shippo asked.

I smiled at him.

"Why Shippo you know my real name."

He blinked. Then I remembered something. I reached into my bag. Everyone tensed as I did. I pulled out something in my fist and crouched down.

"Come here Shippo."

Something in my voice must have reassured him because he did come. The others flinched and Kirara went to pull him back but he dodged her and ran to me. He stopped right in front of me. I opened my hand so only he could see what was in it. His eyes widened at the sucker in my hand.

"It's my last one. I'll have to get you more from home."

He slowly took it. His eyes welled up before he launched into me crying.

"Kagome! You're back." He blubbered.

I looked at the others. Kirara was completely frozen in shock, Miroku was opening and closing his mouth like a gasping fish, Kikyo was gaping, her jaw almost touching the ground. If Inuyasha's eyes could pop out they would very soon, and Sango was just standing there her eyes wide with complete shock.

"Kagome?" Miroku asked softly.

"So good to see you again Miroku. What has it been a year and a half now?" I asked.

He didn't get to answer as Sango tackled me into a hug like Shippo. She also had tears in her eyes.

"We missed you so much." She said sobbing slightly. "We were so worried you were dead."

"Well I'm not. I'm back with you and better then ever."

After a minute Sango stood back up again, still smiling.

"I missed you all." I said looking them all over.

"We missed you too." Sango, Shippo, and Miroku chorused.

"Hey wench. Why do you have the markings and why are your eyes blue." Inuyasha interrupted. "And why do you carry so many weapons. I bet you can't even swing one properly."

I smiled at him.

"Nice to see you too, Inuyasha. And my name is not wench. It's Kagome. And I can use all my weapons. And the markings…well it's a long story."

"Then start telling now." Kikyo suggested.

I laughed slightly.

"Well it began when I left you. First I went to Kouga's and learned a lot from him. Then I trained with a demon swordsman and Totosi. I also trained with a wind demoness. And well I trained with…"

I hesitated.

"Spit it out." Inuyasha said.

"And I trained with Sesshomaru."

There was dead silence.

"What?" Inuyasha asked quietly.

"Sesshomaru trained me in weapons and I stayed at his castle for almost a year."

"WHAT!? You trained with that bastard!" He screamed.

I glared and was beside him in a flash. I slapped him hard, stunning everyone. They all gaped while Inuyasha felt his cheek. Then he slowly turned back to me.

"Never insult him in front of me." I hissed. "He is my lord and I am loyal and grateful to him…."

"How can you be?" Inuyasha interrupted.

His tone was quieter. His anger was under some control now.

"I met him and got to know him. He is not evil like you think. And he does not hate you. He is just annoyed that your father gave you the stronger sword. And he's annoyed you are so reckless and disgraceful to the family."

Inuyasha was silent.

"Now before I was interrupted I was about to say he is also my brother now."

Everyone gaped even more.

"How?" Sango asked.

"We did a ceremony. I am his sister. I am also a sister to Kouga." I said calmly.

"So the wolf finally stopped chasing you." Inuyasha said calmly.

He had gained control while I was away. I smiled. I reached up and used my miko powers to heal the sting of my slap.

"I'm sorry about the slap but I like Sesshomaru and it made me angry to hear you talk of him that way."

Inuyasha looked at the ground.

"I know. And I know he doesn't hate me. I have always known. You know when I was younger and my mother had just died he showed up and asked if I wanted to come home with him. I got scared and ran. He never offered again." He said quietly.

I smiled slightly but sadly.

"I know."

Then I clapped my hands.

"Well we should go. Naraku here we come!" I shouted setting off the others following.

~~END OF FLASHBACK~~

I looked back down the well. Another tear rolled down my face. I loved that time. But it was over. We had found Naraku half a year later. We had had a hard battle. Sesshomaru, Jaken, A-un, Sango, Miroku, Kikyo, Inuyasha, Kirara, Kouga, and I all fought hard. Kanna, Kohaku, and Kagura all turned on Naraku too. You should have seen how happy Sango was when her brother said he had broke free of Naraku's control.

After hours of fighting I was the one who dealt the final blow on Naraku. I had sliced his head off with my scythe. Then I had purified his body. We hadn't lost anyone. Everyone got out almost unscathed. Then I had taken the shard from Kohaku's back. At my pleading Sesshomaru had brought him back with his Tensaiga. It had worked out perfect. Kanna and Kagura had thanked us more then necessary for freeing them, and then they had flown off. Miroku had proposed to Sango and Inuyasha had proposed to Kikyo. Then Sesshomaru and Inuyasha had worked everything. I had Kouga's shards and formed the whole jewel.

That had been the moment of my sadness. I had felt the well start calling after that. I knew I had only a short amount of time left and been heartbroken. Sango, Kirara, Miroku, and Kohaku had given me a tearful farewell before heading off to the slayer village. Kouga had said farewell before shooting off also to his mate and pack. Then I had walked with Shippo to Sesshomaru. At my request he had agreed to look after the Kitsune and train him. Inuyasha and Kikyo were planning to go to Kaede's village and tell her everything before going and living with Sesshomaru where Inuyasha would be the prince of the west, his rightful title. I smiled. I hugged them all good bye and they all left except Sesshomaru when they had all gone he had given me his parting gifts.

~~FLASHBACK~~

I stood in the now empty but blood stained field. Sesshomaru stood beside me.

"It's finally over."

I had tears streaming down my face.

"All of it. Naraku is killed, the jewel is complete, and my journey is over."

More tears rolled down my face.

"It is unfair and ironic. At first I had wished I had never come here. Now it has been exactly three years since I came and I do not wish to leave. We all wanted Naraku dead but now that he is I wish he wasn't. If he wasn't I could stay longer."

More tears poured down my face.

"Kagome the princess of the west should not cry. It is unseemly." He said.

I heard emotion I identified as sadness in his voice

"I know, but once can't bloody hurt." I sobbed.

I felt an arm wrap around my shoulder.

"I guess it can't." His voice was emotionless now.

"I will miss you." I said.

I wiped my tears away. The flow was slowly stopping.

"We will meet in the future. Wait for us." He said.

I nodded. Then he whistled. It was a long pure note that sounded musical. Suddenly a silver wolf the size of a semi truck appeared out of no where.

"Hello Lord of the West."

I identified it as a she.

"How may I help you my lord?"

I heard loyalty in her voice.

"I was wondering if one of your pups could live with Kagome. She will be alone for a while. He would need to keep her company, serve her, and protect her." He said.

The wolf looked at me.

"Ah yes the new princess of the west. I would be honoured if one of my pups was charged with that responsibility."

She barked softly and another wolf appeared. He was a little smaller then Kirara at her largest. He was also silver. It wasn't normal silver. The color danced over him as if the sun was continuously hitting him as if lighting it up. He had a small grey nose and cloudy silver/grey eyes.

"This is Kilo. He will protect you my lady." The mother said. "Kilo, she is your new master, you will protect her with you life."

'Yes mother.'

The voice was male. It also sounded in my head.

"Kilo has not yet learned how to speak the human tongue. He will speak to you telepathically." His mother chuckled slightly.

Kilo made a bow to me.

'My lady I am honoured.'

He sounded older, like a father almost but I guessed he was considered a pup.

"Nice to meet you Kilo." I said.

"You may also speak to him telepathically." The mother said.

Then she bowed to both of us.

"I hope to see you again. Goodbye my son."

'Goodbye mother.'

"Thank you." I said.

The wolf grinned and vanished. Kilo trotted to me and sat at my feet panting and looking like a dog. I smiled.

"I also wish to give you this Kagome." Sesshomaru said.

I turned to him. He pulled a necklace from his shirt. It was a silver chain with a pendant on it. The pendant seemed to be made of a blue stone. It was a small crescent moon the size of two thumb nails. I gasped. It was beautiful.

"Thank you." I said.

"The crescent moon is the symbol of our family and blue is the color of Kouga's family. A bit of both." He said.

I smiled back. He walked behind me and snapped the necklace on overtop of the jewel. Inuyasha and all the others had refused the wish so I still wore it. Suddenly I felt the pull from the well increase.

"I must go." I said sadly.

We walked to the well together.

"This is not goodbye forever. Wait for us we will find you in the future, little sister."

Sesshomaru kissed me lightly on each cheek. I returned the gesture.

"Oh and little sister you will always be my heir. Inuyasha doesn't want the position and he is not cut out for the position. If I am … dead or gone when you arrive you will be set up on my throne and you will be taken care of."

"Thanks." I said smiling softly.

Then I moved towards the well. Kilo followed me. I stepped onto the rim. I looked back at Sesshomaru and rested my hand on Kilo's back. I had known him only a minute but I still felt as if he were my friend. His fur was so soft and I gripped it. He looked at me with sadness in his eyes.

'I know how you feel.' He said.

I smiled at him then Sesshomaru before I jumped into the well pulling Kilo with me.

"Oh and don't be surprised if you get some abilities like control over the elements or the ability to do something. They are just demon abilities." Sesshomaru called after me.

"Well thanks for telling me so late!" I yelled back.

The blue light surrounded us. As soon as I touched the bottom of the well I looked up. I saw the well roof. I made to jump out but suddenly more blue light surrounded us. It was darker and we stayed in one place. Suddenly a figure appeared.

"Midoriko." I breathed.

The woman smiled softly at me.

"You have gone through so much Kagome, only to have a sad ending. At least so far. You could not have stayed in the feudal era. You completed your task there and now have tasks to do here." She said.

I nodded slowly.

"Thank you." I said.

She looked at me, confused.

"Even though the jewel you created made so much sadness it also let me go back. It let me meet them all. It changed my life. Thank you."

She nodded. Then the glow started to fade and the figure vanished. Kilo nuzzled my side. He tried to cheer me up. I smiled at him and we both jumped out of the well.

~~END OF FLASHBACK~~

One tear of regret for some of my choices, one tear for my sadness, one tear for my loneliness, and one tear for the past. Those are the tears that rolled down my face. Then I wiped them away. It had been half a week since I had returned. Mom, Souta, and grandpa had been happy to see me and surprised. I had been training everyday and waiting for the tasks Midoriko mentioned I would have here. Kilo and I also got very close. We were the best of friends. I had got my mother to let me quite school. I didn't need to go. While with Sesshomaru he had given me lessons. He had given me lessons on math, writing, literature, and such every evening I was with him. He had taught me more then I would have learned at school.

I looked at the well once more then walked up the stairs and out the door. Kilo was right beside me. I shut the well house doors and placed a sutra on them I had made. It would keep any from entering. I looked at it a moment and walked to the house. Over the time with Sesshomaru and the half a week I had been home I had got rid of most of my emotions. Or at least kept them hidden. I had let some out in the feudal era but now not even one showed on my face. My mother and they never said anything. I was grateful. Hojo, Eri, Yuri, and Ayumi had come over yesterday wondering where I was. I had told them I wasn't there friend and told them I didn't want to see them again. They were a bit hurt but not much. We had grown apart. I was glad again. I sighed and walked to the house. Souta, grandpa, and mom where leaving toady.

They were going to live in the England country side with my aunt. She was my mother's sister. While I had been away my mother had won the lottery. She had won over eleven million dollars. Grandpa's health had been also getting worse and they decided he needed fresh air and a change. I had refused to leave the shrine. I was still waiting for Sesshomaru and them. My mother had given me a chunk of the money and grandpa had signed the shrine over to me. He was happy that our family would still keep the shrine. Souta was sad about leaving me but happy about going to England, his favourite soccer team was there. My mother was also sad about leaving but happy in a way too. They would be leaving today. They stood at the door, there bags beside them. I walked up to them. I gave them each a large hug.

"Goodbye." I whispered.

I actually let some emotion go into my voice.

"Goodbye sis." Souta said.

"Take care of the shrine and yourself." My grandpa said.

"Goodbye Kagome. Write lots."

"I will."

Then they picked up their bags and headed down the shrine stairs to a waiting cab. They loaded their bags and waved before getting in and heading for the airport. I sighed and looked around. I was alone. Well alone except for Kilo. I was happy. I liked to be alone. I did like my family and friends but being alone was nice too. I took a deep breathe and headed for 'my' house. Mom had helped me move into the larger room and set up everything so it was my own house. I smiled. It really was nice. I looked around.

Kilo nudged me then trotted outside. He liked to stay outside and wander. He would wander all over the city. I had found out that even though he was a wolf he could talk to every kind of animal and could cast illusionary spells. He could also turn to 'dust on the wind'. It was like teleporting but he could only teleport as fast as wind could blow. He said he was a special wolf demon. He said many people called them the illusionary wolves and many didn't believe in them. Kilo usually cast an illusion around himself that made him look like a large white dog so he didn't appear abnormal or dangerous. I loved him. I smiled as I watched him trot away. Then I turned back to the kitchen. I walked in and started some tea. Then I went to my message machine. I pushed the button.

'You have two unheard messages.' It said. 'First Message:'

"Hey Kagome! It's me Yusuke, your cousin! I heard your family was leaving and was wondering if you needed some company! Phone me back!"

'End of Message. Second Message:'

"Kagome! Call me back! It's been like an hour since I phoned you!"

'End of second message. To delete these messages push seven to…'

I pushed seven quickly.

'Messages deleted.'

I walked back to the kitchen as I chuckled slightly. Yusuke had no patience. But I would love to see him. I hadn't seen him in three years. We were very close; almost as close as Souta and I. We had always been together when we were little but had gone to different high schools making us break apart a bit. I smiled and picked up my cordless phone. I quickly punched in the numbers and put the phone to my ear.

'Ring.'

'Ring.'

'Rin…Urameshi residents! Yusuke speaking!' Came Yusuke's voice.

"Tone it down moron. You'll blow out someone's eardrums." I said.

'Kagome!' He yelled.

"I said shut up a bit." I said.

He laughed.

'So you got my messages?' He asked.

"Yes. Come over now I need company."

'We'll be there in ten minutes.'

"We?" I asked.

He didn't answer as he hung up though. I sighed and put the phone down getting my now done tea. I really need company, especially Yusuke. I was a bit down. That was why I hid most of my emotions. Yusuke would cheer me up. He always did. I quickly wrapped an illusion around myself as not to make Yusuke suspicious. I smiled and drank my tea as I waited.

Yusuke's POV:

I sat at my table eating a sandwich. Hiei sat in my window, Kurama sat across from me, and Kuwabara also sat across from me. Kurama and Kuwabara were also eating sandwiches and Hiei looked extremely bored. Suddenly the phone rang. I quickly swallowed what I was chewing and lunged for the phone hoping it was Kagome.

"Urameshi residents! Yusuke speaking!" I yelled.

'Tone it down moron. You'll blow out someone's eardrums.' Kagome's voice said.

"Kagome!" I yelled.

Everyone was paying attention to me. I rarely sounded this excited and happy at the same time.

'I said shut up a bit.' Kagome said.

I laughed.

"So you got my messages?" I asked.

'Yes. Come over now I need company.'

"We'll be there in ten minutes."

I hung up missing her last questions. I turned to the others, still watching me.

"We're going to my cousins now! She said she needs some company." I said.

"Who's your cousin? I never knew you had one." Kuwabara said.

"Her name is Kagome Higurashi. She is my age and we were best friends for our entire child hood. We haven't seen each other in three years though. Well her mother, brother, and grandfather moved to England but she stayed behind. She lives on a shrine." I said.

"If she lives in a shrine she can't be that bad." Kurama said.

"She is a bit like me but more polite and less violent. At least last time I saw her she was." I said.

"I guess we'll come." Kuwabara said.

I grinned and shot out the door. The others followed me quickly.

"Any reason we're running?" Kuwabara asked.

"No." I said.

He looked at me a moment then sighed. We continued to run. We made it to the shrine stairs in five minutes I stopped and grinned. Hiei still looked emotionless Kurama had a small smile on and Kuwabara had his stupid look on. I noticed a white dog sitting at the base of the steps watching us. We all blinked at it. It stepped aside for us. Kurama and Hiei both glanced at it once more as we walked up the stairs. We walked up the long flight of stairs at a reasonable pace.

"You could run up and down these for training." Kuwabara said.

"I did." I said remembering training as Kagome watched when we were younger.

I would run up and down these as many times as I could. My record was eighty times up and down. I did walk a bit though. I grinned. When we reached the top we looked around. Kurama's eyes rested on the large tree while Hiei's rested on the well house.

"Not many trees this old are around." Kurama said walking up to the tree.

We all noticed Hiei walk up to the well house. He went to touch it and was thrown back by a barrier. We all blinked and walked over.

"There's a sutra on the well house." Kurama said.

"Kagome's grandpa favourite thing to do is make sutras and stick them everywhere." I grinned.

Hiei looked at me a moment then back at the sutra. I looked at it. It was strong. I scowled slightly. The old man had never made anything half this strong before. We just shook our heads and walked to the house. I was about to knock when the door opened. Kagome stood there.

Author's POV:

Yusuke frowned at the look on her face. Her face showed nothing. It was utterly blank. They all looked her over. She had long black hair and soft brown eyes, along with beautiful curves. Kuwabara gaped for a minute before grabbing her hands.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked.

He was thrown ten feet back. Yusuke gaped at Kagome who had kicked him in the gut. She just gave Yusuke a blank stare.

"Nice to see you Yusuke. Come in all of you."

She turned and walked for the kitchen. Yusuke just stood where he was. Hiei and Kurama looked at him.

"Something is different. She used to be full of emotion. She showed too much before. She always was cheerful. But now…"

He was a bit worried.

"We can pick up no scent surrounding her." Kurama said.

"I-" He started.

"Hurry up and come in." Kagome yelled at me.

Kuwabara stood up and they all walked in. They sat down at the kitchen table. Kagome poured us tea and set out snacks and such. Yusuke dug in.

"Kagome this is Shuichi, Hiei, and Kuwabara." Yusuke said.

Kagome's eyes flashed, with what they thought was a bit of surprise as she looked at Kurama. She also looked at Hiei closely. She sniffed when she saw Kuwabara.

"Well it is good to see you all." Kagome said.

Yusuke almost breathed a sigh of relief as some emotion crept into her voice. Suddenly she blinked and smiled brilliantly surprising them.

"That's the Kagome I know!" Yusuke said. "I was worried about you for a minute."

Kagome grinned.

"You are always worried about me." She giggled.

-She looks familiar- Youko said to Shuichi.

--How so-- Shuichi asked.

-I feel like I met her a long time ago.-

--How long ago?--

-A couple hundred years or so.-

--Impossible-- Shuichi said bluntly.

~She is human she would not live that long~ Hiei said interrupting the conversation.

-I know but she seems familiar. I know it's not possible but still…. Well I'm probably right, and have seen her somewhere- Youko said.

Hiei rolled his eyes mentally. Foxes always wanted to be right even if their answer or argument was illogical. He left the fox to argue with his human part and left their mind. He watched the woman warily too. The sutra on the well had been strong. Yusuke said her grandfather had done it but it had been made by miko powers. He could sense no spiritual power in her and miko's had died out ages ago but he was still wary.

She had seemed very emotionless for a human so he was guessing there was more to her then she let on. He watched as her and Yusuke talked. Kuwabara, and Yusuke ate while listening and talking too. Kurama also ate but more politely. Kagome looked up at him after a while. The other had started talking by themselves for the moment. Kagome stood up and walked to her freezer. She also grabbed a spoon and bowl. Then she did something he couldn't see but he could smell ice cream. He loved ice cream. He closed his eyes.

He would not ask this human for anything though. He took a deep breath and tried to stop the smell from coming to his nose. He opened his eyes a moment later to see the woman right in front of him. He cursed mentally. He had been so caught up in his thoughts he hadn't sensed her. He hated to show weakness. She smiled at him. Then she held out the bowl of ice cream. He blinked then slowly took it. She smiled and sat back down at the table. Hiei looked down at the ice cream. She hadn't done anything to it. He grabbed the spoon and started to eat. The other's eyes widened.

"How did you get him to eat? He never shows emotion, he never talks, and he never eats anything we offer." Yusuke said. "He never does anything, except threaten and kill!"

"No body can resist ice cream." Kagome grinned, either not noticing or ignoring the kill part.

There was silence for a minute before they started to talk again.

--I didn't know you liked ice cream Hiei-- Shuichi said.

~Nh~ Hiei said.

-The woman is right. No one can resist ice cream- Youko said.

--I guess not-- Shuichi said.

-Isn't she pretty Hiei- Youko asked.

Hiei almost chocked on his ice cream but he had more control then that. The fox's question had been total random and startled him a bit.

~I do not like humans fox~ Hiei replied

-Well I think she is very beautiful- Youko said.

He growled slightly in a delighted way.

--Don't even think of doing anything to her-- Shuichi said.

-I can't do anything anyways- The fox huffed. –You're in control most of the time.-

Hiei snorted softly. When he had finished the ice cream he set the bowl by the sink and walked back to the wall he leaned against. After a while Yusuke and they finally stopped talking. They stood and Kagome said goodbye as they walked down the shrine stairs. Hiei and his group left quickly. They walked most of the way home together so stayed together. As they neared a more deserted street a blue portal opened. Botan jumped out and rushed to them. She had a serious look.

"Something has happened." She said.

They all waited.

"The king of the Makai is hosting another dark tournament!"

There was silence a moment. It was broken by cheering from Yusuke and Kuwabara. They high fived and looked total psyched

"We have been invited?" Kurama asked.

"Yes. He has said he wishes you to attend. He asked but it was more like a command." Botan said.

Hiei scowled. He would have to go unless he never wished to go to the Makai again.

"So when is it?" Yusuke asked excitedly.

"In a month." Botan said.

"Only a month?!" Kuwabara asked.

Botan sighed and nodded.

"I have spoken to Genkai and she has said she will train you in that month." Botan said.

They all though this over.

"We need a fifth member don't we?" Kurama asked.

Botan nodded.

"But the king of the Makai has suggested a partner for you. Koenma is deciding whether or not to accept the suggestion." Botan said.

Hiei almost sighed out loud. The others didn't seem to have a problem with this.

"So when will we meet this person?" Kurama asked.

Botan went to say something when her gadget phone thing rang. She looked at it. They couldn't hear what it said but she turned to them.

"Koenma has accepted the suggestion. He says you will meet your new member now."

They all nodded. She opened her blue portal and they all jumped through.

Hiei's POV:

I sighed mentally. Hopefully the next team mate wasn't human. I didn't know how many humans I could stand. Kurama seemed to like them well enough though. As we stepped into the office Koenma looked up from his desk. We were the only ones in the room.

"So who is our new member toddler?" Yusuke asked.

Koenma sent him a glare.

"I'm not a toddler! Now I sent George and two others to… ask the person to come here. They should be here any moment."

Yusuke went to say something again when a new portal opened up. Three demon subordinates of Koenma stepped in.

"You found the person?" Koenma asked.

"Yes. He wished his identity to be unknown, though, so he will not show his face." One of them said.

Koenma nodded slowly. Suddenly a person stepped through the portal. They had a large duffle bag on their shoulder. They wore baggy black pants, a baggy black t-shirt, and a black traveling cloak. It had a hood that was down. Their hair was down past their waist. It was gathered and had a strip of black cloth wrapped around it holding it in an encased ponytail. They wore a white mask that looked like a face that was blank almost sad. It only had openings for eyes. We looked into the stunning blue eyes that looked back at us.

"What is you're name?" Yusuke asked bluntly.

"Call me Kage." An emotionless deep voice said.

The voice held properties of a male and female. I couldn't smell or sense the person either. Koenma had said 'he' once and I guessed it must be a man. I looked the person over. He was about Yusuke's height. I knew Kage wasn't his real name. I doubted he would tell us his real name.

"Well I'm Yusuke, this is Kuwabara, this is Kurama, and lastly this is Hiei." Yusuke said.

Kage nodded to each of us.

~What do you think fox~ I asked.

-I don't know- Was all Youko said.

--He seems okay-- Shuichi said.

I left the fox's mind and looked at the others. They wore thoughtful looks. Suddenly Kage turned to Koenma.

"I will participate on this team and I will not harm or fight any of them…unless they give me reason to." The voice said.

Koenma nodded.

"And I heard something about training at a certain place." He said.

"You will stay at Genkai's shrine for the next month. You will leave from there and catch a boat to Devil's Island. It's an island that has been deserted because of the ominous forest on it. The king of the Makai has had an arena built on it along with a hotel. They will tell you more on the boat."

Kage nodded.

"Can we go?" Yusuke asked.

"Wait. Koenma may I ask you one more question?" Kage asked.

Koenma nodded.

"Did a demon slayer by the name of Sango, and a monk by the name of Miroku pass through here?"

Koenma floated to his filing cabinet.

"How long ago might they have died?" He asked.

"Around five hundred years ago." Kage said.

We all blinked at him. If he had been around for five hundred years he was a demon or had demon blood. Koenma flipped through some folders. Then he stopped. He turned back to Kage.

"Yes they passed through here. They died at an old age after living a full life. They were some of the greatest warriors of all times, for humans."

Kage dipped his head.

"Thank you for telling me."

"You know when a spirit dies they appear as they did in their prime and with their weapons. We kept their weapons at their request. They had kept talking about a certain traveling companion they used to know. They had wished to give the person a farewell but had never seen them again. They said if the person ever came around that we could give their weapons to the person or to any person as long as they could answer their final riddle." Koenma said.

We all listened in interest.

"Tell me the riddle." Kage said.

Koenma nodded then he held up a finger before zipping off to a large safe of his. He opened it quickly and darted inside. He came out two minutes later carrying a small blue box. It was the size of a small jewellery box. It had a sutra placed on the lid. All around the rim were small carved pictures of weapons. It was quite beautiful. I saw Kurama eyeing it. I rolled my eyes. Damn fox couldn't resist anything of beauty. Koenma cleared his throat.

"He was loud, obnoxious, and had the manners of a flea. He was soft and kind inside though. Only one person ever held real power over him. The power the person held was activated by one word. What is the word?"

We were all baffled. Even I could not guess. It was not like a riddle but more of a test question. Suddenly Kage laughed.

"Sit." Was all he said.

Suddenly the sutra burned up and the box disappeared for a second to reappear in Kage's hands. We blinked. How could the answer be sit? We finally shrugged as Kage hugged the box to his chest. The people must have been special friends. He looked up at Koenma. His eyes still held no emotion.

"Thank you."

The way he said that made even my heart cry. His voice held so much emotion. It held regret, sadness, loneliness, and hopelessness. It also held a sound that made him sound a bit broken. His eyes shed no tears though. I wondered what had happened to him. I noticed his hands held the box tightly, very tightly. I saw blood start to run down his knuckles. I was the only one who noticed.

"Well you better be on your way." Koenma said breaking the chilly silence.

Botan stayed silent and quickly opened her portal. Yusuke and Kuwabara scrambled through followed more gracefully by Kurama. Then I went for the portal. Kage followed right behind me. As we entered we were surrounded by blue only to step into fading sunlight a moment later. We were in front of Genkai's house. It was quite large but most of the space was used for training. It was in a clearing, surrounded by trees for a couple of miles. It also had gardens filling most of the clearing. I saw Genkai already waiting for us.

"Hey ya old bat. We're here to train!" Yusuke shouted.

Genkai scowled at him but looked to Kage.

"So this is you're new member?" She asked.

"Yes. You may call me Kage. I am honoured that you let me stay here." Kage said with a slight bow of his head.

Genkai smirked.

"At least you have manners." Then she turned to the others. "Well come on. I'll show you you're rooms."

We walked into the large place. There were about three large dojos. One made so that you could see nothing in the black and you couldn't sense anyone. Then there was a regular one for hand to hand combat and weapon less training. And one more for weapon training although Genkai preferred it when we practiced with weapons outside. Then there was the game room. And there was a small springs in the back. It was a natural spring with walls built around it.

There was Genkai's room and then there was one room beside her that was currently occupied by my sister Yukina. She still did not know we were related. She stayed here at Genkai's where she was safe and happy. Well back to the house. Then there were a couple other guest rooms. I didn't know how many though. Genkai walked down past the dojos with us all following. Suddenly she turned to a hall I hadn't been down before. I saw three doors. I scowled slightly. Genkai opened the first door. It showed a good sized room with a door connecting to a bathroom. It had two beds and two sets of all the furniture.

"There is not enough room for you all to have your own rooms so you will be paired off. Kuwabara and Yusuke will share this room."

Yusuke and Kuwabara glared at Genkai then at one another. They knew better then to argue over something so trivial. They walked in and tossed their bags to the side. Then Genkai shut them in and walked forwards again. She opened the next door showing a smaller room. It had one set of everything and connecting bathroom.

"Kurama can stay here."

Kurama nodded and slipped in. Finally Genkai led Kage and I to the last door. It was the same size as the first. It had two beds and two of everything else. And one connecting bathroom.

"Hiei and Kage will stay here."

Kage nodded and walked in setting his things down. I scowled slightly.

"Watch him Hiei." Genkai whispered to me.

I looked at her. She was watching Kage closely.

"We know nothing of him. Even Koenma is puzzled about who he really is too. He had a record on him but he said he was supposed to be a normal human. But if the King of the Makai suggested him he is not normal. You know the King of the Makai can be cruel and is mostly unknown to us. This may be his idea of amusement. Watch Kage carefully. Koenma and I agreed you were the only one neutral and smart enough to do it." Genkai still said in a whisper.

I saw why I had been stuck with the new member now. I nodded once and walked in. Kage had dropped his duffle onto the one bed. The room was crimson and had two double beds, one on each side in the corner. Beside each one was a night stand. There were two dressers and two small shelves. All the furniture was black. There was also a large window. I looked out over the gardens at the trees and at the sinking sun. Kage looked at me then walked out the door. I followed, in plain sight. He didn't seem to mind. He still carried the blue box. We walked outside to a break in the gardens. Kage sat on the grass cross-legged. I stood a couple metres away. He slowly opened the box. He pulled out a ting boomerang that would fit in the palm of my hand. My eyes widened slightly it was made of demon bone and strong. It had been a demon exterminator's weapon. Then Kage pulled out a small sickle and chair. It was the same as the last. Then he finally pulled a miniature staff out. It was layered in spiritual powers.

"Those are quite small for weapons." I said blankly.

Kage looked up at me. The mask showed no emotion and neither did her eyes.

"When power and energy is added to them they enlarge. Like this."

He stood up and set the box on the ground. He put two weapons away but kept the boomerang out. I looked at Kurama as he stepped up on one side of me. Genkai stepped up on my other side. Suddenly a barrier around Kage lifted slightly. I sensed a small amount of energy flow from him to the small weapon in hand. Then the barrier strengthened again. Suddenly the boomerang started to grow. Kage held onto a small handle as it grew. When it finally enlarged all it could it was taller then Kage and wicked looking. He gripped the handle and set it kind of on her back. He spread her feet and hefted the weapon up. Then he threw it hard. It shot off a blur as it span. It shot above the trees neatly slicing the tops of the taller ones. Then it circled back heading straight for us. Kage reached up a hand as it got closer and gripped the handle. The boomerangs force pushed him back. Then it spun around him settling back on his back. We all starred.

"That was, the demon slayer, Sango's weapon." He said.

Suddenly he added more energy to it and it shrunk.

"What other weapons do you know?" Kurama asked.

"Mace, axe, sword, knife, dagger, staff, spear, bow, and scythe."

We were all surprised at how long the list was. Kage put the shrunk weapon back in the blue box and picked it up.

"Would you like to try the game room?" Genkai asked. "Yusuke and Kuwabara are there right now."

"Sure." Kage said.

We all followed back to the games room where Yusuke was vs. Kuwabara at rock paper scissors. They stopped when we came in.

"Let's test you to see how much better you have gotten." Genkai said to Kage, Yusuke, and Kuwabara.

They all nodded. She looked at the rock, paper, and scissor thing. The score read 15 wins -0 losses for Kuwabara and 8 wins -7 losses for Yusuke.

"Try it Kage." She said.

Kage nodded and stepped up. We watched as she won all fifteen rounds. Then we all moved to the aurora reading Karaoke one. Kuwabara scored seventy-two, Yusuke scored eighty-nine, and Kage, shockingly, broke the score board as the numbers got too high. We all starred a moment before we moved to the punching bag. Kuwabara scored a two hundred and ten, Yusuke scored eight hundred and fifty. Then Kage stepped up. Everyone was expectant and leaned forwards a bit. Kage stood almost perfectly still lifting only his arm, his fist ready. I snorted softly. If you moved with the punch and used all your weight you did more damage. He lashed out, his hand almost a blur. He hit the bag and the score board broke again. The bag also was pulled off its holder and made a crater in the wall as it flew back into a tree. We all stood starring. Then Kage turned to us. She bowed to Genkai.

"I'm sorry about that."

"That's okay lad." Genkai said still looking at the exploded punching bag at the base of a tree.

"I would also like to tell you that I do honour your offer for training but would rather do it on my own."

Genkai nodded. Then Kage stepped away walking for the door. Before he reached it, it slid open and Yukina ran in. She collided with Kage, falling back. She never hit the ground as Kage's arm snaked out and grabbed her arm. He helped her gain her balance. Then Yukina looked up at him. She blushed in embarrassment and bowed.

"S-sorry." She stuttered.

"Yukina this is Kage. He is going to fight on Urameshi's team in the dark tournament."

"Oh." My sister said bowing again.

Kage also did a flourishing bow.

"I'm sorry I got in your way milady. Please excuse me."

"O-okay." Yukina blushed.

She was very flattered. Kage swept past her out the door. Kuwabara was glaring at his retreating back. Yukina watched as he walked off and then skipped to us. She smiled at Kuwabara.

"Hello." She said politely. "I sensed you guys and came to see you."

Kuwabara immediately launched into a hello and a story. I just walked off planning to find Kage. I headed to our room guessing he was there. I walked into the room to see Kage sliding a sword into the sash at his side. He looked up at me.

"Hiei." He acknowledged.

I just looked at his sword. It wasn't ordinary that was for sure.

"Fight me." I said.

Kage blinked at me. Then he nodded once.

"Outside." He said.

I nodded now. Kage walked to the window and opened it before leaping out. I followed in a blur. When we stepped out we shot off towards the closest clearing. We jumped through the trees at demon speed and found a clearing in a minute. We stopped facing one another. We waited a moment. Then we each blinked. Our swords were out in a flash. We lunged our blades locking.

"Let's make this interesting." Kage breathed as we came almost nose to nose.

"Nh?"

"If you win you may ask me five questions. Any questions and I must answer. If I win I get to ask you five questions and you must answer." He said.

I smirked.

"Deal."

"Swear you will abide." He said.

"I swear on my honour and on my life." I said.

"And I swear on my blood and honour."

Without another word Kage's blade snaked up mine. He jumped up and then dove down at me like an eagle swooping for its prey. I dodged just in time. I lunged in just as he touched the ground. He spun and our blades crashed again.

"May we use other blades?" Kage asked.

"Use any blade you like." I smirked.

"Gladly."

Suddenly a dagger about five inches appeared in his hand. While our blades were locked he aimed for my face. I leaned back the dagger passing mere millimetre from my face. I scowled slightly and jumped back. Kage wasn't ready to stop though. He lunged at me. My eyes widened once before Kage's sword was at my throat and I pushed against a tree.

"Do you yield?" He asked.

"Yes." I said emotionlessly.

Kage let out a laugh and sheathed his blades.

"We will talk later." He said.

Then he jumped off and headed back to Genkai's. 'He is stronger then I thought.' I thought to myself. I wished I hadn't promised to answer five questions. Then I jumped off into the trees heading back. When I arrived I jumped back into our room. I could sense the others in their rooms. The sun had sunk below the horizon now and a blanket of darkness was upon us. I decided to go to the springs before I went to bed. I slipped out the door into the hall and stepped silently down the hall. When I reached the spring I opened the door. I slipped into the small changing room and stripped. I tossed my clothes onto a bench and grabbed a towel.

I stepped into the springs and was momentarily blinded by the steam. I walked across the rock and slid into the water laying my towel beside me. I blinked as I saw a black cloak off to the side with a sword lying on it. I guessed Kage was in here too. I shrugged. It was large enough two. I walked to the rock bench and sat down. I leaned back and relaxed. I felt the water ripple. A second later I saw the outline of Kage through the steam. I didn't think he saw me. I had masked my aurora and presence so he couldn't sense me. He moved off in the opposite direction.

I sighed mentally. I really wasn't looking forward to answering his questions. I stood and glided through the water. I might as well do it soon rather then later. I saw his outline again and moved towards it. His back was to me. I wondered if his mask was on. I would really like to see what he looked like under it. I got closer and saw he was sitting deep in the water his back still to me. I wondered why he didn't feel the water move from me but then guessed it was because he was moving causing other ripples.

"Kage." I said.

He stood up and spun to me and a second. I saw him crouch slightly ready to kick. Just as his one foot hit me causing me to pitch forwards he froze. I saw his stunning blue eyes before I got ready to hit the water or him. I never hit 'his' chest or the water. Instead my face landed in something soft. I heard a strangled noise come from Kage. I blinked as I recognized what I had hit as breasts. I pulled back quickly starring at Kage with wide eyes. My eyes met his blue eyes. They were the same as Kage's. I looked over his face. He had a blue crescent moon on his forehead and small fangs in his mouth. I slowly looked down. I saw three stripes on each arm but I ignored these. His hair was out of the wrap and fanned out over his back, and the ends were silver. It was down past his waist. I ignored all this as I saw breasts. I looked at his face to him chest. I did this a couple times. HE WAS A SHE!

"What the hell?!" I growled.

Kage just starred at me then moved to cover her chest with her arm. She went to turn away and I grabbed bother her wrists pulling her to face me. She tried to pull back and I squeezed tighter. She kept her face blank the only thing different was the small tint of red in her cheeks.

"You're a woman." I hissed.

She looked away.

"Yes."

"A pitiful woman."

"A woman, yes, but not pitiful."

I growled softly. I had been beaten by a woman. I felt my anger bubble. I gripped her wrists tighter, my claws drawing blood.

"You have some explaining to do." I said.

"You have to answer my questions not the other way around." She scowled.

I growled and pushed her against a large rock. I pinned her there.

"You are in no position to argue." I hissed.

She scowled. I took a deep breath and my anger disappeared. My face was drained of emotion and I loosened my hold a bit. I looked at the woman. She looked a lot like Yusuke's cousin.

"Kagome?" I asked.

She sighed.

"Yeah, that's me."

My eyes widened slightly.

"What are you doing here?"

"I am Kage, the last member on your team." She said.

"Why do you appear like a demon?"

"This is how I have looked for the past year. I had an illusion around me so Yusuke wouldn't ask questions."

"Are you demon?"

"Yes. I used to be human then two demons adopted me as their sister. I am half black wolf youkai and half silver inu youkai."

"Why did you hide your identity?" I asked.

"Yusuke would never let me fight." She said.

I agreed. I still held her wrists. I looked her up and down again. The red in her cheeks grew but she still looked me in the eye. She was a very beautiful Youkai.

"Take down your barriers so I may sense you. I wish to know how powerful you are." I said.

She sighed and her barrier extended to around me so only we could sense one another. I gasped. I sensed enormous miko powers in her along with her demon powers. She also took off an illusion on a black tail tipped with silver that fell to her knees. It twitched uncertainly. I smirked slightly. She was powerful. At least as powerful as me but she also had miko powers.

I looked her over again. She was the most beautiful demoness I had ever seen too. I took a deep breath and tried to rid my mind of those thoughts. But it was hard when she was naked and pinned in front of me. She watched me with her clear blue eyes. They held little emotion. I felt desire rise in me. I fought it, but not with everything I had. I leaned forwards, hovering my face above her neck. I inhaled her scent and growled slightly. I kissed her neck slightly. A small sound like a moan came from her throat. She was over eighteen but I could still smell her innocence. She needed this kind of attention. I growled softly again and licked her ear. She moaned again and I bit it. She was breathing harder.

I placed more kisses up her neck as I slid closer to her. She was panting slightly. I smelled her arousal, but also her hesitation. I kissed her jaw lightly. When I reached her lips I captured them hungrily. She gasped and I slipped my tongue in. She was still and she moaned in pleasure. Then she flinched slightly as if getting back control. She tried to pull away but I had her wrists still pinned and her body against a boulder. She tried to pull away again. I growled a warning and she stopped. I deepened the kiss. When I ran out of air I took a breath before kissing down the front of her neck. She moaned again. When I reached her collar bone I nibbled it slightly. She moaned again. When I reached her breast I kissed the top of each one. She was breathing heavier again.

"Hiei." She breathed as I licked each breast.

"Hiei?" Another voice called from a distance.

I stopped and frowned. It seemed Kurama had also decided to have a dip in the spring and seen my clothes. I stepped away from Kagome letting her go she slipped off to the side. She grabbed a small towel from a rock and sank into the water.

"Hiei are you in here?' Kurama asked getting closer.

~What fox~ I asked.

--Just saw your clothes while I was coming in.--

-We also saw Kage's clothes- Youko said. –Gay at all-

I growled.

--Youko, do not tease him. Besides you have slept with a couple men-- Shuichi said.

--So? They were all the best of the best. There is only a certain kind of pleasure a man can give--

I shivered slightly. The fox would sleep with anyone pretty, just like he would steal anything pretty even if it was a shiny rock. Suddenly he came into view. He blinked at Kagome who was sunk into the water up past her nose. But he could see the crescent moon on her forehead.

"Hey Kage. I see you have the markings of a demon." Kurama said.

She just stayed silent. Kurama seemed amused.

"I wonder how long you can hold your breath for before you have to lift you're head for air."

I snorted softly. We stood waiting. Five minutes later Kagome rose out of the water a little more getting air.

--Well he's a pretty boy isn't he-- Youko said.

I smirked. Kurama looked at me.

"Going to tell him?" I asked Kagome.

"If he was smart enough he would recognize me." She said.

Her voice had gone back to normal. She wasn't even trying to hide the feminine voice behind her deeper fake voice. Kurama blinked. Kagome sighed and rose out of the water. She held out the small towel to cover her breasts, but Kurama saw the cleavage. He gaped.

"Kage's a woman." He choked out.

"Oh yes Kurama I'm a woman. I was last time too."

"Wait a minute you're Yusuke's cousin Kagome." He spluttered.

We both smirked at the fox. The fox gaped at Kagome. Then he blinked and peered at her. He also noticed her tail. His eyes grew larger.

"Lady Kagome." He whispered.

I blinked wondering where the 'lady' had come from. Kagome grinned. Kurama stumbled hastily to bow. I watched closely. Kagome glided to him and walked around him looking at him.

"Well you are still as handsome as ever no mater what body you are in. Youko."

I blinked. We hadn't told her that name.

"I did not recognize you." He said.

"I could see." She purred.

"How do you know him?" I asked.

"I met him close to five hundred years ago. He attempted to steal my sword 'Wolf Fang'. I beat the lesson 'Do not assume everyone is an easy opponent' into him." She said.

"So you are 500 years old?" I asked.

Kagome shook her ahead.

"I am only eighteen but I travelled back in time for a while."

I blinked and slowly nodded. Then suddenly Kurama blinked and I saw devious twinkle in his eyes. Suddenly he changed into his silver Kitsune form.

"I got control of the human's body for a minute." He purred.

Then he slid to Kagome. He was too close for me. I didn't like him so close after I had kissed her like that but she wasn't mine so I had no control…yet. He smiled at her.

"Have you reconsidered being my mate?" he asked.

I blinked.

"I told you after I beat you that I would not be your mate. I have not changed my mind yet." Kagome said.

"Come one Kagome. How about a Lover then? We could have so much fun." He growled softly as he slowly got closer.

Kagome just watched his face closely. Soon he was right in front of her, so they were almost touching.

"Kagome you know I have desired you ever since we met."

"I know fox. I can smell your desire."

"Why refuse me Kagome. You know I'm strong and I'm quite handsome." He said seductively.

He started to twirl a finger in her hair as they looked into one another's eyes. Kagome looked softer as she looked at him. I could smell her pleasure. It made me a bit annoyed but not much. I was Hiei, a forbidden child, master of fire, and I did not get jealous over a woman.

"Please don't do that in front of me." I said blankly.

Youko grinned at me.

"Why don't you leave us alone then?"

He turned back to Kagome and growled softly while drawing a claw down her jaw. Then he traced her lips. He leaned in and kissed her softly. She kissed back softly. Then Youko pulled back and frowned. Suddenly he changed back. Shuichi stepped a respectable distance from Kagome and looked away.

"Sorry." He said.

Kagome purred softly.

"It was perfectly fine."

I snorted and headed back to my clothes. I jumped out of the water and grabbed my towel heading back to the change room. I quickly dried off and changed. Just as I opened the door to leave Kagome walked in. She wore her black clothes and had her cloak on her arm. She had her mask back on.

"I already explained to Kurama that I want you to keep calling me Kage and not to tell Yusuke who I am." She said.

I nodded once.

"So why did you kiss me?"

The question caught me off guard a bit.

"Were you jealous when Kurama kissed me?" She teased.

"I kissed you out of desire and no, I was not jealous when Kurama kissed you."

"Good."

I was a bit startled to hear her say the word in such an honest way.

"I am not planning on loving anyone. I may play with the fox a bit but I do not wish to fall in love or have others fall for me. It happened once and no good came of it."

With that she swept past me. I watched her leave. Then Kurama walked in. He looked a bit sad. I wondered if he had heard.

"I heard." He said as if he had read my mind.

"Hn."

"She did love long ago."

I listened closer now.

"She loved an inu hanyou. He was in love with her incarnate. The incarnate died and Kagome met him. She fell in love with him and he loved her too. She found out later he saw the dead woman in her. Then somehow the dead woman came back to life as one of the living dead. The hanyou tossed her to the side for the undead woman. It made her heart shatter." He said.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"When Youko met her five hundred years ago he did like her. He watched her and her group a lot. It's sad that she went through that pain."

Then Kurama walked past me to his room. I snorted. It wasn't sad, it was life. Life was full of pain. The heart break she experienced wouldn't most likely be the last. It was just the way things were. I walked off to our room and found Kagome asleep on her bed. I tossed my cloak onto the bed post and sat in the corner on my bed. I watched Kagome a moment before drifting off.

--

The month passed relatively quickly. Yusuke and Kuwabara trained with Genkai and Kurama and I trained alone but sparred often. I also helped Kuwabara with his sword skills at the request of the others but I barely tolerated it. Kage disappeared every day and did not return till late, well past dark. We rarely saw her even if we looked for her. I had seen her twice. I had noticed each time that a large wolf stood near her and looked silver in color. It would always look at me then vanish as if it had never been there. Then Kagome would shoot off. Genkai, Yukina, Kuwabara, and Yusuke still thought she was a boy. She also hadn't asked her five questions. I knew she was waiting till the perfect time to ask them. But as I said the month went by quickly. Finally it was the day to meet at the docks.


	4. Dark Tournament 2 Part 2

--

We set our bags down. We were just outside Genkai's house. Botan stood in front of us with Yukina, Shizuru Kuwabara's sister, Atsuko Yusuke's mom, and Keiko. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Genkai, Kagome, Kurama, and I all stood outside the door. Botan opened her portal and we all filed in. We appeared near the docks. Keiko, Yukina, Atsuko, Botan, and Shizuru all headed for the boat reserved for viewers. The rest of us headed for our boat. Genkai was allowed to come because she was our coach. As we reached it we stopped. Kagome had stopped.

"I have someone coming with me."

We all blinked.

"Who?" Genkai asked.

"He's like a pet. Do you mind?" Kagome asked.

"As long as he's trained, Kage." Yusuke said.

Kagome nodded. She set her bags down and brought up two fingers to her lips. She let out a long clear whistle. It was a really loud, clear, almost unreal sound. Almost everyone looked at us. Suddenly I saw a sparkle of dust floating on the wind. It swooped down to us and suddenly a wolf materialized. It was unreal silver. It came up past Kagome's waist and had cloudy grey eyes. It had large pearly fangs and looked quite scary.

"This is Kilo. He is a special wolf demon many call illusionary wolves." I said.

Kurama looked at him closely. I did the same.

"I haven't seen one of these in hundreds of years." Kurama said.

'Of course you haven't we aren't that easy to see if we do not wish to be seen.' A voice echoed in all our heads.

"Who said that!?" Yusuke asked whipping around.

'Me, moron.' Kilo sniffed. 'I am talking to you telepathically.'

"Wow." Yusuke said.

The wolf gave him a lop-sided grin.

"Can we go now?" Kuwabara asked.

We all nodded and walked up to the boat. The captain directed us to rooms and we all walked to them, dropping our bags. Then we returned to the deck. By now we had already set off, ploughing through the water. There were three other boats around us. Two contained other participating teams and one contained viewers. Suddenly the captain stepped back up to a microphone. He ginned darkly down at us and the other nine teams.

"You all must fight now. Only two teams may continue from here. This same test is going on in the other boats too. Even in the viewer's boat. I hope you all said good bye to your friends. We have some demons wiping out the weak humans and weak demons."

He laughed. Some of the other teams mumbled. We all felt our anger flare.

"You bastard!" Yusuke yelled.

He ran to the railing and looked out. We could all see some hawk and eagle demons darting around with blood on their claws. We heard some screaming to. Kagome growled.

"Kilo! Go help them!" She yelled.

The wolf growled and vanished. A second later we heard an eerie a howl from the viewer's boat. A minute later Kilo reappeared; he had blood dripping from his muzzle but seemed amused.

'They sent weak demons to kill them. Everyone is fine. Atsuko, Shizuru, and Keiko pretty much wiped the demons, sent to kill them, by themselves. I did the merciful thing and killed the survivors.'

This made Kuwabara and Yusuke burst into laughter.

"So they are okay?" Kurama asked.

He nodded.

'I took care of the rest of the demons and left them.' Kilo said grinned.

We all nodded. Then we saw that captain grinning. We spun in time to see eight of the nine teams jumping at us. I pulled my sword free in a flash, Kuwabara made his sword, Kurama made his whip, and Yusuke got powered up. Kilo growled and lunged at another wolf demon and Kagome calmly pulled her sword free. It all happened in an instant. Then the eight teams were on us. All I saw was blood and my sword as I cut through the demons. When no more came at me I looked around.

Yusuke was panting and surrounded by bodies. Kurama turned his whip back into a rose and tucked it in his hair he was also surrounded by bodies. Kuwabara was also panting and had the least amount of bodies by him. We were all drenched in blood. Genkai stood still at the railing just watching us. I looked to Kagome. She stood by her wolf and slid her sword back in the sheath. No demon had made it five feet in front of her. She stood in a clearing and didn't have a drop of blood on her. But she had the most bodies around her. I wished I had seen the move she had used to kill the demons. We starred at her a moment. Then we turned to the last team who sat on the railing grinning.

"It seems team Urameshi and team Karai advance." The captain growled.

We all looked at the team and Yusuke and Kuwabara grinned as they recognized everyone. We walked up to them quickly.

"Hey Chu!" Yusuke yelled clasping hands with the demon who had a beer in hand and a Mohawk.

"I'll beat you in the tournament this time." The man growled.

"Hey guys!" The kid Rinko said.

Then he saw Kilo. He gasped and jumped over to the wolf landing on its back. Kilo snorted softly and let the boy pet him.

"Rinko you shouldn't pet stranger's pets." Toya the ice master said.

"So you guys teamed up?" Kurama asked.

"Yeah, we all wanted to join the tournament but members of each of our teams last year died." Chu said.

"So who's your captain?" Yusuke asked.

"Jin." Toya said.

"Who is your fifth member?" Kurama asked.

"Jin's mate." Chu said.

"He got a mate!?" Yusuke asked.

"Yeah, she is nice but she can be violent." Rinko laughed.

"She's a wind master like him." Toya said.

They all nodded.

"So who are you?" Chu asked circling Kagome.

"Kage; he's our last member." Yusuke said.

"You're the one who killed the most demons." Chu said.

Kagome nodded.

"How did you do it? We watched the whole time but all we saw was you almost get dog piled by the demons, then suddenly they were thrown back dead and bloody." Toya said.

"I can't tell all my secrets." Kagome purred.

They all nodded slowly. Kagome pulled a water bottle from her bag under her cloak and slid the bottom half of her mask up while she took some, while we turned back to the others.

"So where is Jin?"

"Right here!" Someone called.

He was walking up with a demoness beside him. The demoness had red eyes, black hair in a bun, and she had feathers in her hair. She had a kimono on and held a fan in her hand. She looked smug almost.

"Hey Jin, Kagura." Toya said.

Kagome who had currently been facing me and drinking water spit out all her water, drenching me. Everyone turned to us. They all grinned. I scowled and wiped the water from my face while Kagome spun to Jin and his mate. She looked at the two. Then she slowly put her water bottle away and pulled her mask all the way down while looking at Kagura. Then she slowly walked up to Kagura. She stopped in front of the woman and they stood starring into one another's eyes.

"Hello Kagura how is Kanna?"

"Kanna is fine." The demoness answered slowly.

Then she squinted. Kagome made sure no one could see and popped her mask off. Kagura gaped. Yusuke then leapt to Kagura's side to see Kagome's face but she had the mask back on. Yusuke grumbled and walked back to us.

"Well Kagura nice to see you again, call me Kage."

Kagura grinned then snapped her fan open shielding her face.

"Nice to see you again…. Kage."

"It seems someone else likes your mate Jin!" Chu laughed.

Jin scowled and walked back to Kagura looping an arm around hers and glaring at Kagome. His glare said 'mine'.

"Don't worry Jin _he_ is just an old friend." Kagura smiled at the wind master.

Jin smiled at her and calmed. Kagome took a step back beside me and looked at me.

"Sorry about the water thing." She laughed.

"Nh."

"I see your vocabulary hasn't expanded." Chu said.

"Nh."

Chu grinned and returned to his beer as he and Yusuke started to talk of fights. When almost everyone was in conversation I saw Kagura walk from Jin to Kagome. They then strolled off together. I wondered what they were doing but didn't have enough curiosity to follow.

Kagome's POV:

Kagura and I walked to a secluded spot on the front of the boat and looked out over the rolling waves.

"So why the disguise Kagome?" Kagura asked.

I grinned and popped my mask off.

"Well the boy with dark hair talking to Chu is my cousin and he wouldn't let me fight if he found out who I was, and it would lead to a billion questions so I keep a mask on."

"Mh."

"So what have you been doing for the last five hundred years?" I asked.

"Well Kanna and I stayed with Sesshomaru. We worked under him. We thought he would be cold and ruthless kind of like Naraku but he isn't. He's actually quite nice." She said.

I grinned and nodded.

"Well we stayed with him and worked in the west. When the Makai was created we moved there. Sesshomaru beat the other lords and took the role of king. We stayed with him in his castle working for him till about twenty years ago. As far as I know Kanna is still with him. She found out how to look through the eyes of any demon using her mirror. She is Sesshomaru's most trusted and best spy. I left though and went to explore both the Makai and this world. I met Jin and Toya last year after the first tournament. Jin fell for me at first sight and I fell for him."

She sighed dreamily. I laughed.

"Well I came through the well a month and a week ago. I trained met the group I'm with now and we're on our way to the tournament."

"You know you're the heir to the Makai throne right?" She asked.

I nodded.

"I wish I could see the place." I sighed.

"It is okay. It's pretty much like the feudal era but different plants and it's even more dangerous."

I nodded.

"So tell me about the man you spit all the water at." Kagura grinned.

"Well that's Hiei. You know he's a lot like Sesshomaru. His vocabulary contains 'Nh' and 'pathetic human' and that's about it." I laughed.

"So are you two together?" She asked.

I couldn't help it. I burst into laughter.

"I doubt Hiei will ever love anyone. He is handsome but I'm not going to get a mate. At least I don't plan too." I said.

I sighed and leaned on the railing, looking out on the waves.

"If that has something to do with Inuyasha; then forget him. Not all men are like him." Kagura said also leaning on the railing.

"I know." I said.

"So, what about the fox? He's cute."

"Ah yes, Youko. Actually his name is Shuichi and he's a human. The Kitsune spirit in him is just there. He does have Youko's strength and I guess that Youko is in his mind. I like Youko. Shuichi is cute to but I don't like him as much."

"Well those are the only two cute guys near you. I doubt you would be caught dead with the baboon, and we just won't say anything about your cousin."

I snorted.

"Yeah."

"So do you plan on telling them who you are?" She asked.

"Actually Hiei and Kurama know who I am. Hiei snuck up on me in a spring and Kurama also caught me. Yusuke and Kuwabara are too stupid to find out soon and I don't know Genkai so even if she saw me I have no worries. You know I actually met Youko when I was in the past."

"Really? What happened?"

"He tried to steal my sword. I beat him up. Then he asked me to be his mate. He is still trying to get me to be his mate."

"Well he isn't too bad." Kagura grinned.

I nodded.

"So when are you and Jin going to have kids?"

She snapped her fan open and hid the small blush in her cheeks. I had never seen Kagura show so much emotion. In the past I had always seen her glaring, scowling, or pissed. Now that she was free she seemed happy, bubbly, and cheerful.

"Well I should get back to the others." I sighed.

"I'm going to stay here. The wind is nice here. Will you send Jin for me?"

I nodded as I started to walk off. I stopped when she called out. I popped my mask on as I waited for her to speak. She finally looked up at me and I saw deep emotion in her eyes.

"Thank you. For everything. Without you I would have been a prisoner to Naraku forever, I would never have had freedom or choices, and I would never have met Jin."

I smiled at her.

"I'm glad I could give those to you. I hope we see each other again soon."

Then I turned and walked off, my cape billowing off of me. When I reached the others they were still talking but they were looking around as if expecting to see Kagura and I walk up. When they saw me they watched me a moment. They returned to their conversations but Jin walked up to me. He scowled at me slightly.

"If you did anything to my mate I'll…"

"No need for threats." I interrupted. "Your mate is fine. She is waiting for you on the front of the boat. She says the wind feels nice there."

Then I walked past him. I saw him glance back at me, and then he hurried off towards the front of the boat. I walked back to Hiei and Genkai who stood together. They looked at me. Genkai watched me a moment as Hiei just glanced at me then looked over the ocean.

"Will you reveal your identity to us?" Genkai asked.

"Yes."

"When?"

"How about at the end of the first match."

Genkai nodded. I felt a wet nose push against my bare arm. I looked down at Kilo.

'Will they take it well? I know your cousin will freak.'

'I know but I wish to tell them who I am. And this mask is getting annoying. Besides by then it will be too late to stop me.'

Kilo nodded.

'Hey Hiei.' I called.

Hiei's head whipped up and he looked at me.

~I didn't know you could speak telepathically~ He said.

'I didn't feel like telling you earlier.'

~Nh~

'I just wanted to ask what the tournament rules were.'

~Nh~

Hiei started to tell me the rules and about the tournament telepathically while we stood looking at the ocean. When he was finished we just leaned against the railings. The others had wandered off and only Hiei and I remained. I loved the silence as I watched the crashing waves roll over one another. I wanted to reach down and hold them. The water seemed so beautiful and I felt as if it was trying to speak to me. I looked down at the waves as if they hypnotized me. I blinked as I could swear I heard a voice come from the water.

"Master."

I held my breath. The whisper had floated up from the water. I looked to Hiei. He didn't seem to have heard. I looked back at the water. Suddenly a wave coming for the boat grew and hit the side spraying up at me. I fell back on my but as the water drenched me. I looked to Hiei again. He wasn't wet. He didn't have a drop of water on him. It was as if the water hadn't tried to get him and it had just come for me. Suddenly I felt the water on me move. I cried out and scooted back.

"What is it?" Hiei asked looking at me.

"The water…." I started.

"Master. You are my master."

I whipped my head around at the voice.

"Did you hear that?" I asked.

Hiei looked at me closely.

"Hear what?" He asked slowly.

"The voice." I said.

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Only you can hear me master."

The voice was right in front of me. I jumped up.

"Uh I'll be back in a moment Hiei." I said running off.

When Hiei was out of sight I stopped and walked to the railing. I looked at the waves. Another shot from the ocean and sprayed over the deck. But instead of staying in pools it all grouped together and slithered to me like a snake. When it reached it snaked up my arm.

"You're speaking to me." I gasped.

I looked around before slipping my mask off so I could see the water snake thing better.

"Yes master. I am a spirit of the ocean."

"How can I hear you?" I asked.

"Your ability is to understand and control any water or water related animal." The water snake said.

"How? I should have the abilities of some land animal or something like the wolves." I said.

"No. You are related to land demons but water is your element. It is why your eyes turned blue and why your markings are blue. Even though your brother's family color is blue it is not the reason your markings are blue. No one can know what abilities they have till they tap their power. You tapped it by being near the water and liking it."

I nodded slowly.

"Now I will tell you of the water element. There are hundreds of different water and water related spirits. One such is me. I am the water spirit of waves. I am all the waves. I am the spirit who creates waves. The ocean spirit or the spirit who controls the entire ocean is like my mother. She is the water itself. We are her children. We help her do things like I help make waves. My brother helps by making currents and my sister helps by making the plants that grow in water. There are also those who look after all water life and keep water clean and fresh. Then there is mother, lake. She is sister to my mother. She is fresh water. She has children of her own. They are my cousins. Most demons can only control one of us. You are one of the rare cases too. You can control any of us you wish. You are so strong you may even control my mother the ocean and Mother Lake."

"So you are saying each water element and water related things are like spirits. They have a will of their own?" I asked.

The water seemed too nodded.

"We all obey Mother Ocean and she takes care of us, directs us, and makes sure we do nothing that disrupts the earth's balance."

"Oh. So I can control you?' she asked.

"Yes. You may call us when in need and you may control us. You need to have us near though. You will always be stronger near water. If you are to far away the other elements will stop us from getting to you. Like plants will drink us, and the earth will absorb us. But if you even have only a cup of water you can summon us."

"So no one else will hear you or understand if you talk to me?"

"They will hear nothing. They do not know we have spirits. To them we will seem like ordinary pools of water. Only those who have control of us will understand we have spirits and understand our language."

I sat in silence.

"That's amazing"

"Your friends are the same."

I blinked.

"The wind ones."

I gasped.

"You mean Jin and Kagura can speak to the spirits of the air and wind?" I asked.

"Yes and no. Air is one element and mother and wind is a child of the air element. Wind makes the air move and is like me. Your friends only have enough power to hear wind. They will never hear Mother Air or the birds who are creatures of the wind."

"You mean I can hear creatures of the water? Like fish and dolphins?" I asked.

"Yes master."

I sat there for a minute as the water snake, or the wave child wrapped around me and looked at me curiously.

"So how do I control you?"

"Well you can control the spirit like me where you have me right with you and use me to fight. I would stay with you and use my powers for you like this."

It looked over the ocean and waves sprung up and clashed together.

"Or I can go into you so we are one."

Suddenly the snake seemed to sink into my skin. Suddenly I got all knowledge of waves. I looked out over the ocean and flicked a finger. A wave flew up till it collapsed under its weight. The snake emerged from my skin and wrapped back around me.

"And you may use part of me."

The tail the snake broke off and sunk into me. I got knowledge of waves again. I made waves again but they weren't as strong as when she was in me.

"When we are one you will have more power. I will let you keep the part of me in you."

I nodded. Suddenly another pool of water jumped over the side of the boat. It took the shape of a fish and floated around me.

"I am the spirit of aquatic animals, or child aqua." It said. "I control all creatures of the water."

He nodded to the water and three dolphins surfaced.

"Master." They all said.

I blinked. They did back flips and vanished.

"Wow." I laughed.

"Master we will teach you of the water. We will help you learn your powers." The fish said.

"Thank you." I said.

They seemed to smile. I sat there on the secluded part of the deck for five hours as the two water spirits taught me how to control them with out them being near or having them in me. By the time the sun started to set I knew how to control both of them and half of the other water spirits. I had met others to, like the spirit of water plants. There were actually more then one. I met one though named child coral and it made all the coral in the sea grow. It appeared to me as the form of a crab. I liked it. Finally as the sun started to sink the three spirits child coral, wave, and Aqua quieted and looked out over the water. A long dragon almost like a serpent poked its head from the water. It seemed to have a crown on its head.

"Hello. I am Mother Ocean. I am the mother of these children and the ruler of the sea. It has been centuries since one has showed up and has had enough power to be my master. I hope you will use my powers wisely." A feminine voice boomed.

I bowed my head.

"I will use your powers wisely."

"You seem intelligent and wise. Some have used my powers wrongly and have more then once almost destroyed the earth."

I nodded.

"I hope my children and I serve you well. Here is a piece of me. It will show to all other water spirits that you are our masters."

I nodded a blue glowy orb appeared in her talons. It slowly came to me were it sunk into my chest. I gasped as I felt knowledge and power enter me. No that is wrong. Power didn't enter me, my own power awakened deep in me. I gasped again. When I looked up the Mother Ocean, child Aqua, and child Coral were gone. Child wave was still wrapped around my arm.

"Do you wish me to stay with you master?" The snake asked.

"No. I need some time alone and you must have work to do. I hope to see you again."

"Of course master."

The water snake bowed its head and slithered to the edge of the boat. It slipped over the edge and immediately waves started getting bigger and stronger. I looked out of the ocean and breathed in the salt air. It was wonderful. I looked at the water. I wanted to practice with my water skills. I looked at the sun. I probably had about half an hour of light left. I looked into the water and twisted a finger. A small pillar of water shot up and spun like a tornado. It motioned it to spin in a large circle. The water tornado whipped off spinning in a circle. When it returned to me it sunk and vanished in the waves.

I looked around to make sure no one was looking and jumped over the railing. Before I even hit the water pillars of the water shot to meet me and act as steps. I stepped lightly on each pillar till I reached the water. I grinned as I touched down. The boat of course kept moving forwards leaving me behind. I smiled and took off running beside the boat. Every time my foot touched the top of the water ripple spread out leaving a trail almost. I looked around once then took a deep breath and dived under the water. I smiled as I swam beneath the surface. The water felt wonderful. I saw the three dolphins swimming below me. They laughed and shot up to me swimming around me and talking to me.

I grabbed on to the fin of one and slid on its back. It laughed and swam to the surface. It broke from the water and jumped through the air. I took another breath before we were once again under the water. I played with the dolphins always making sure the boat was close till the sun was gone and the light was out. I finally jumped back up to the deck and waved goodbye to the dolphins. Then I used my powers to take every drop of water from me and let it fall back to the ocean. I yawned once and set off to find my room. When I found it I stepped in and looked around. It wasn't the largest room but I didn't care. I threw barriers around the room to keep unwanted guests out and then fell into bed. I flicked the lamp off and was soon dreaming.

--

"Master." A voice called.

I sat straight up in bed and looked for the water snake. I saw it peaking in through my window. I also saw that the sun had risen well past the horizon and wondered why I had not woken.

"What?" I asked.

"You have reached your destination. You are at the island and in a dock. A man talked to the captain of your boat. He bribed the captain. The captain has agreed to turn right around again. He wants you and your friends to miss the tournament. And he is going to kill you when you are half way back. The man used some plant power and set a sleeping powder on everyone. Even you but your water power cancelled it out. You must hurry."

"Thank you wave!" I yelled.

I had already pulled my mask I had left off last night, back on. I grabbed my bag and shot out the door. I knocked on Hiei's door then burst in. I used my miko powers to heal Hiei of the sleeping powder. Hiei slowly sat up.

"We have to go now! We reached the place but someone used sleeping powers on us and is making the captain take us back home so we miss the tournament."

Hiei was up and running down the hall to the rooms of the others in a flash. I turned and ran to another room. I burst in and saw Jin and Kagura sleeping in a coma almost. I healed them and they sat straight up.

"What-" Jin started.

"We need to get off this ship now!"

They just nodded and jumped up. I took a deep breath and spread all my miko to the others. I felt them heal and suddenly all the doors were thrown open.

"The captain double crossed us. We have to get off now or we will miss our stop."

Everyone disappeared to reappear with their bags. We all ran back on deck to find Hiei holding the captain. His sword was pushed against his throat and the captain was grovelling. I saw the dock about fifty metres away. When I was sure everyone was on deck I looked at them.

"Some man bribed the captain to take us back. The captain was to make sure we didn't compete in the tournament by killing us and dumping us in the middle of the ocean. The man who bribed him had a special sleeping powder he used on us."

Everyone growled. The captain stopped grovelling and just stayed silent. The boat was slowly moving from the dock farther.

"Take us back." Hiei said to the captain.

The captain shook his head and pointed to a broken wheel and commands. Everyone growled again.

"How can we get back?" Yusuke asked.

"I can get us back." Kagura said.

She stepped forwards pulling a feather from her hair. She shot into the sky on her feather. She fell behind the boat and snapped her fan open.

"Hold on she's going to make a pretty big blast of air." I said.

Kagura swept her fan up and a blast of air hit the boat. It pushed it back toward the dock. I used my power to make sure no big waves were made. The boat soon came close enough to the dock that everyone could drop off. Then I grinned at the captain who paled. I used my water powers to make a water spear and pierce the bottom of his boat. He could hear the water start to fill it. He gaped and I jumped from the boat. Then I made sure the water pushed the boat a good distance from the dock. I used my powers and called two sharks that were near by. They circled the boat as it sunk because I had told them an unfortunate captain was stuck on board.

"Well Kage we owe you for waking us." Chu said.

"Mmh." I said.

"So how did you wake us if we had sleeping power thrown on us?" Toya asked.

"I have healing abilities." I said.

"Well that's handy." Kagura snorted.

I knew she knew I meant my miko powers.

"Well that was close." Yusuke sighed.

"You can bet others will try to sabotage our matches too." Kurama said.

Everyone nodded. Then we saw Atsuko, Shizuru, Yukina, and Keiko waving and jogging to us.

"Hey guys. We wondered what was taking so long for you guys to get off the boat when it started to pull away. We tried to call you but some demons held us back." Keiko said.

"Yeah well Kage saved our asses." Kuwabara said.

They all nodded and smiled at me.

"Come on I want some breakfast." Rinko said.

We all grinned and started to walk down the trail towards the hotel we would stay at. As we reached it we saw other demons wandering around. I noticed that none stepped foot in the dark forest on the right. They all seemed scared of it. I looked at it again. It was different from the other trees and forests I had seen. It was old and had large dark trees. And you could only see in about three feet before trees blocked your view. As we walked into the hotel Yusuke and Jin walked up to the reception counter. A man looked up at them.

"Team names." He demanded.

"Karai." Jin said.

"Urameshi." Yusuke said.

The man squinted at the two before sliding keys to them.

"Please try not to bother the other guests while staying and do not enter the dark forest."

"Why?" Chu asked.

The man smirked at him.

"Demons and creatures lurk in there and it is always dark. No light penetrates the shadows. Everyone who goes in there either is never seen again or they come out half dead and completely insane."

Everyone looked at the man a moment. Then we walked off to the stairs. As soon as we found our room we stepped in. Keiko, Atsuko, Yukina, and Shizuru all had a room next to ours. Genkai, Hiei, Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kilo, and I stepped in and looked around. There was a living room with a kitchen at the end. The living room held a coffee table, two couches, and a TV. The kitchen had a stove, fridge, sink, and counter. We saw three doors too. We opened them to see bedrooms with connecting bathrooms.

"Yusuke and Hiei will share, Kuwabara and I will share, and Kurama and Kage will share." Genkai said leaving no room for argument.

Everyone sighed and agreed. Kurama and I walked in and looked at the one bed.

"I'll sleep on the floor." He said.

He seemed to be talking to someone else as he said this to me.

"Youko wants to share the bed doesn't he?" I asked.

He winced and sighed.

"It's fine with me. Besides if you sleep on the floor you won't sleep as well and you need to be at your best for the matches." I said.

Kurama sighed and nodded. I saw a dresser and walked out. I stuffed all my clothes in the bottom half and threw my bag under the bed. I threw a miko barrier over my half of the dresser so no one but me could open them. Then I walked out leaving Kurama to unpack his bags. I walked to the kitchen and found the fridge and cupboards packed with food. I smiled and pulled out some food. I made myself a sandwich and sat on the couch eating. Hiei and Yusuke came out of their room a minute later. Yusuke also grabbed some food but Hiei just sat down. Kuwabara was the next person out. He ran to the kitchen and started to argue with Yusuke about sandwiches. Genkai and Kurama walked out at the same time and looked everyone over before sitting. As soon as I polished the sandwich off I stood and stretched then I left the room. I shut the door behind me and walked down the hall. I walked to the lobby and looked around. I saw the manager and walked up to him.

"Where can I get a sheet of the tournament matches?" I asked.

He just stuck his hand under the desk and slid a sheet to me. I took it and walked back to the stairs. I walked up and into the hall. I started to read the sheet as I walked. Suddenly some one collided with me. I fell to my butt and looked up. A Kitsune with auburn hair in a blue ribbon, green eyes, and a blue and yellow outfit sat up too. He had also fallen. He had small slaws and fangs and fox feet. He was at least as tall as me and looked to be twenty.

"Sorry wasn't watching where I was going." He apologized as he stood.

I also stood but in silence as I looked him. I grinned behind my mask. Then he seemed to remember what he was doing.

"Have you seen a woman with black hair and blue eyes? She would look a bit like you but she's a woman. She should also have black wolf ears and a tail."

"No I haven't Shippo."

"Oh okay."

He jogged past me and I walked to our door. I opened it up and stepped in as he called out.

"Hey wait! How did you know my name?" He asked.

I didn't say as I shut our door. Everyone looked up at me as I walked in.

"Tomorrow is our first match. It starts at ten o'clock exactly. We face a team called Rashid."

They nodded and I walled to the kitchen. I grabbed a knife and stuck it in the top of the matches' sheet I had gotten. I threw it to the wall where the knife pinned the paper. Yusuke and Kuwabara blinked in surprise. I just ignored them as I turned back to the door.

"I will be back later." I said as I walked from the room.

As soon as I did I headed for the stairs again. I walked to the lobby then outside. I made sure no one was looking and walked into the dark forest we had been warned about. I was naturally curious and wanted to explore it. As I entered my sight of the hotel was blocked off. I waited till I was deeper before I focused my miko powers to my hand. They turned to a pink glowing orb that cast light. It illuminated everything five feet on every side. I saw bats, bugs, and other night animals disappear back into the shadows. I walked for five minutes in the eerie silence. Suddenly I heard snarling. I spun to see three large black wolves that had glowing gold eyes. They snarled as they advanced on me. I snarled back. They slowly stopped snarling and stopped advancing. They tilted their heads at me.

"Pack sister?" They asked in wolf tongue.

"Yes pack brother."

"You speak our tongue, are you smell like a pack leader." The largest said in wolf.

"Yes. I am brother to pack leader, I am a black wolf youkai."

They looked at me and seemed to grin.

"You are one of us. We will help you when you need us and our kind will leave you be as you travel." The second largest said.

"Do you know what is in this forest?" I asked looking around.

"There are packs of us wolves and there are large panthers, then there are rabbits and other game, other then that nothing but bugs and bats." One sighed.

"Then why do many come out mad?" I asked.

They all seemed to grin.

"No light works in here except spiritual power, even fire goes out. Sometimes when we are not hungry but bored we play with those who enter. We chase them, make them mad with fear, and then push them out." The leader said.

"It is quite amusing to watch." The second chuckled.

I nodded.

"Do you know where the forest ends and the ocean starts pack brothers?" I asked.

"We will lead you to the large water." They said.

I nodded and they trotted to the dark. I trotted after them making sure they always stayed in sight. I saw a large panther a couple of times but it wouldn't attack three wolves its size and a strong demon. After ten minutes of jogging we emerged from the trees on a small rocky beach. The wolves stood in the shadows of the trees and watched me. I looked at the ocean a moment.

"Thank you brothers. I will be fighting later. Will you help if I need you?"

"Yes sister."

"Thank you. I know the way back. Oh and if you meet these people please don't harm them, they are my friends."

I used my power to burn the picture of Atsuko, Shizuru, Keiko, Botan, Yukina, Yusuke, Hiei, Kurama, Kuwabara, and Genkai in their minds. They nodded and trotted back to the trees. I let my miko powers go and hoped down the rocks to the ocean. Then I pulled my cape, mask, and shoes off. I took the wrap of cloth from my hair and put it in a braid and pulled my t-shirt off. Now all I had on was a black sports bra and my pants. I set my stuff neatly on a rock then sprinted for the water. As I reached it I dived in. I swam Farther and deeper into the sea.

Once I was a good distance I breathed in a deep breath and dove. I kicked and used my powers to help me get to the sea floor. As I got closer colors erupted around me. I almost gasped at the sight. Reefs of colored coral were everywhere along different water plants of different colors. Brightly colored fish swam in groups and the occasional large lone fish swam disrupting the schools of the other fish. I swam in spot a moment. As a demon I could stand higher pressures and hold my breath longer so I could stay here for a while. I finally kicked farther down and looked at all the wonders. I grabbed some really nice empty shells and lovely rocks.

When I ran out of breath I shot to the surface. I swam back to the shore and grabbed my cape. I rolled it up sort of like a bag and tied it to my back like a pack sack. Then I slipped my shells and such in. I left my stuff again and went even farther then before. This time when I got to the bottom it was dark. I used my miko powers and the water lit up. I collected more shells and rocks as I explored the reefs, rocks, sands, and everything else. I even talked with the fish a bit. Well they talked and I listened. They were very curious about me, the master of water. They chattered on and pointed to all the hidden treasures for me. When I finally filled my bag I thanked them and returned to shore. I left my cape/bag and walked out to the water again.

This time though instead of swimming I made some of the water turn a bit solid like a surf board. I stood on and water straps held me on. I used my power over the waves and got some to rise. I then spent the next hour surfing. I had a lot of fun. When I finally got a bit tired of surfing I made my way back to shore. This time I picked a big rock and laid down on it. I stayed there in the sun while I dried off. I dozed once and woke to find that it was about dinner.

I didn't feel like heading back right away so I left my stuff and strolled down the rock beach. The beach wasn't large at all and when the tide was in it went right to the tree line. I doubted that many had ever come here. No boat could pull up with all the rocks and that left coming through the trees or flying and not many would fly over the forest to come to a tiny beach. I smiled as I strolled along. I picked up interesting rocks and found crabs. I felt like I was six again and we were at the beach my mom had taken us too.

I finally walked back to my clothes. I pulled my clothes back on and carried my cape/ bag. I slipped my mask on and headed back for the trees. As I walked through the trees I noticed wolves were always near, like guards. When I finally reached the edge I peered out. When no one was looking I slipped out and walked to the hotel. I slipped in the doors and up the stairs. When I reached our room I walked in. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Genkai, Kurama and Hiei all sat on the couches watching TV, reading, or talking. It was nine o'clock. I looked out the window to see a setting sun. I wondered how I had missed how low the sun was.

"Where were you?" Yusuke asked.

"Beach." I said.

"All day?" Kurama asked.

"Yes."

'That isn't possible. I went to the beach a couple times and you weren't there." Yusuke said.

"There is more then one beach." I said.

"There's only one people can reach. The others are on the other side of the trees." Kurama said.

"He couldn't have gone through the trees. Three demons tried today and one emerged an hour later wounded gravely and jabbering nonsense the other two were just bones that were thrown from the trees." Kuwabara said.

He shivered and Yusuke nodded.

"Well I made it through the forest just fine." I retorted.

They all looked at me.

"You went through the forest?' Yusuke asked slowly.

"Yes."

"Prove it." He said.

"Well you said you didn't see me on this beach but I got these."

I walked to the coffee table and unrolled my cloak. It revealed large shells, rocks, coral, and such. There was huge variety. Yusuke and Kuwabara gaped a moment.

"How did you get so many nice ones?" Yusuke asked examining them. "I tried to find nice shells but there were none."

"I dived and found them on the beach."

"What was in the forest?" Hiei asked suddenly.

"Well there were some huge rabid wolves, and snarling vicious panther demons and some other monsters." I grinned.

They couldn't see my grin but heard it in my words. They watched me a minute. I saw Kurama eyeing my shells mostly the prettiest rocks and shells. I picked up my favourite ones and held them.

"You can have any you want." I said to all them.

They blinked. Kurama slowly picked up a shiny rock. He looked it over and smiled. Yusuke picked out a large shell saying something about showing Keiko before he left the room. Kuwabara picked up a light blue and pink shell and followed Yusuke saying something about Yukina. Hiei just rolled his eyes and leaned back into the couch. Genkai looked everything over. Then she looked back at me. Kurama had sat next to the cape of stuff and was examining everything. I thought that Youko was about half in control now.

"So you will show us who you are tomorrow?" Genkai asked.

She wouldn't admit it but she was curious. I sat on the couch. I grinned and popped my mask off. Genkai blinked and opened her mouth. Nothing came out for a minute.

"You're a woman?" She asked.

I grinned.

"Yes I am Genkai." I said.

I had stopped deepening my voice and it came out regular. She looked at the other two who didn't seem interested in me.

"They already knew." She said.

"Unfortunately they walked in on me bathing."

Genkai snorted and the other two shrugged. Kurama continued to look at the shells and such and Hiei just looked at the wall as if in thought. As soon as I heard the doorknob turning I pulled my mask back on. Yukina, Keiko, Kuwabara, and Yusuke all walked in.

"The others are drunk." Keiko said.

We all snorted. Yukina's eyes lit up at the stuff on the coffee table. She sat across from Kurama and also examined everything.

"Yusuke said you found all this Kage." Keiko said.

I nodded.

"They're all wonderful." Yukina smiled.

I nodded and walked to my room. I grabbed a book I was reading and then returned to the living room. After a bout an hour everyone else headed to their rooms. I picked up all my shells that the others hadn't taken and stuffed them in my drawer. I quickly changed to some pyjamas and slid under the covers setting my mask on the small night stand. Kurama came in a minute later. He just pulled his shirt on but left his pants on. He slowly slipped under the covers, keeping near the edge of the bed. I flicked my fingers and a barrier sprang around the door. It would instantly wake me if anyone entered or left. I yawned and sighed before I drifted off.

--

I woke at eight when the alarm on the clock beeped. Kurama also sat straight up looking around. I hit the stupid alarm clock smashing it. I had forgotten I had set it. I yawned and jumped up. I grabbed my clothes and jumped into the bathroom before Kurama. I had a quick shower and got dressed in some reasonably tight pants and a reasonably tight shirt, they were all black. Then I pulled my mask and cape on. I walked back out and Kurama slipped into the bathroom. I walked to my dresser and pulled out the blue box with my shrunken weapons. I grabbed my sword, Kohaku's old weapon, and a couple of my knives. I enlarged my sword and the knives and slid them into the belt at my waits but kept Kohaku's weapon small and put it in my pocket. I slid from the room and looked around. Genkai was sitting on a couch with Hiei and Kuwabara who looked bored. Yusuke walked from his room the same time as me and we both walked to the kitchen. I grabbed some cereal and lifted my mask enough to eat. Yusuke watched me the whole time.

"When will you show us under the mask?" he asked.

"How about this; I promised to show you guys my face after the first match but if we win I'll show you who I am, and I'll tell you my name, age, and type of demon."

Yusuke grinned.

"We'll win that match." He said.

I grinned back and finished my cereal as Kurama walked from his room. Once everyone was ready we walked out the door. It was still half an hour till our match but we wanted to be there earlier. As we walked out of the hotel Kilo appeared beside me.

"Where were you?" I asked.

'Exploring the island.' He said panting.

I nodded. Then I grabbed a canteen I had grabbed before we left.

"Will you fill this with ocean water for me?" I asked.

He nodded and grabbed the flask in his teeth. He disappeared and we kept walking. Half a minute later Kilo returned. He held the flask carefully so no water fell.

"Thanks." I said.

He nodded. I screwed the lid back on and carried the flask. I saw the others glance at it but I ignored them and they ignored me after a minute. When we reached the stadium I smiled. There were tall bleachers in the center of the stadium was a large circular arena. There were benches for the teams and a first aid tent ready. There were six separate stands of bleachers and between them were large halls to get out of the stadium. I could see right down them with my demon sight. I saw at the end of one hall the dark forest.

I saw golden eyes watching me too. I smiled and stood with my team. Most of the stadium was already full. I saw our group of viewers waving and watching us. We waved back and sat on the benches waiting. Our opponents, team Rashid, were also already here. They sat on their bench watching us. I analyzed them all. I could see that they were all demons. They all seemed to be tiger and cheetah demons which meant they were fast, had powerful jaws, and sharp claws. I also saw that they all wore knives and daggers. They all had cat ears and a tail. They also had gold eyes, claws, fangs, and patches of cheetah or tiger prints on their faces. They seemed serious, not taunting or smug, just serious. When the referee finally stepped up and the stadium was full we stood.

"Welcome to the 2nd Dark Tournament. We hope you enjoy it." The referee said.

She was a cat youkai with gold ears and blonde hair. She wore a tight outfit and seemed excited. The crowd cheered as she said this.

"Our first match is Team Rashid vs. Team Urameshi. First contestants step forwards."

I noticed that when she announced our team almost everyone booed. I snorted softly. Kuwabara jumped into the ring along with one of the tiger demons. We had done rock paper scissors earlier and Kuwabara had won. It would go Kuwabara, Kurama, Yusuke, Hiei, me. The referee yelled 'begin' and the two lunged at one another. Before the tiger even attacked I knew he would win. I could tell he was a hand to hand combat master. The match lasted two minutes before the tiger had knocked Kuwabara out.

Yusuke sighed and dragged him from the ring. Kurama stepped up as a cheetah demon stepped up. Kurama used his whip while the cheetah used a knife. The match was also over in minutes. Kurama had won. He hadn't killed his opponent though. His opponent had battled honourably and they hadn't killed Kuwabara so he had spared the cheetah. Yusuke jumped to the ring cracking his knuckles. The second Cheetah jumped up. The battle lasted longer. Yusuke was stronger but the cheetah was so fast Yusuke couldn't land a good hit. He had finally hit him and sent the cheetah into the wall though.

I yawned as Hiei jumped up. The last cheetah jumped up meaning the last tiger was mine. Hiei and the cheetah didn't even battle a whole minute before the cheetah was down. I grinned as I jumped to the ring. The last guy was the strongest. I could feel it. He was the leader and could probably beat his four team-mates at the same time. He looked at me as he got in position. I also got in position. When the referee signalled the start the tiger and I stood analyzing one another. Suddenly he lunged at me. I easily skipped back avoiding his blow. I knew he wasn't using all his power.

"Come on, fight me for real." I said.

He nodded and lunged with all his speed. I narrowly avoided a hand in my gut. I then dived in my claws slashing up. I nicked his chin slightly. He sniffed and kicked. I met him blow for blow for about ten minutes. He dodged my blows or countered him as I did the same to him. Suddenly I saw his claws glow a light green.

"Whoa, what's that?" Kuwabara asked.

He had revived a while ago.

"Poison claws." Kurama said.

Yusuke and Kuwabara gulped as the crowd cheered the tiger on. He lunged in and swiped. His poison wasn't as strong as Sesshomaru's or even mine but it was a bit different. I bet that what ever it touched it would eat away at. I dodged again as he aimed for my face. I let poison glow on my own claws. I swiped at the tiger whose eyes widened slightly and dodged. He jumped in and I stepped back.

Suddenly I felt a small rock hit my back. It wasn't large but enough to throw me a bit off balance. I knew someone who didn't want me to win had thrown it. I still dodged the claws but they swiped the front of my cloak and my mask. I heard, smelled, and saw the poison start to eat away at them quickly. I ripped the cape and mask off and threw them to the dirt. I watched a second. The poison devoured the things I had worn in half a minute. I looked at my team to see Yusuke gaping at me. I sighed. I had taken off my illusion this morning and he could plainly see my ears and tail. The tiger also appeared a bit startled.

"And the last fighter on Team Urameshi has been revealed as a young wolf demoness!" The referee yelled.

"KAGOME?!" Yusuke finally yelled.

I sighed. The tiger seemed to see we had a slight interference and stepped back a bit.

"STOP THE MATCH!" Yusuke yelled.

"No." I told the referee.

"He is the captain-" The referee started.

"If you stop this match I will take that microphone and shove it down your throat!" I hissed.

She gulped and stepped back.

"Uh…" She started.

"Let the match continue." Someone said.

I looked to the side and saw Inuyasha. I gasped slightly and was tempted to lunge at him.

"WHAT?! NO! MY COUSIN WILL NOT FIGHT IN THIS MATCH!" Yusuke said.

"And it seems Kage the last member is also Yusuke Urameshi's cousin! And the match will continue!" The referee said.

Kurama's POV:

Yusuke started forwards as Kagome turned back to the tiger who nodded. Then the tiger lunged. Yusuke went to yell but the hanyou with silver hair, white ears, and gold eyes stepped in front of him and growled.

"She will fight! It is her choice!" He growled.

"She is my cousin and I will not let her fight!" Yusuke roared.

"She is more then capable of fighting." The hanyou said.

Yusuke growled. Suddenly the crowd gasped. We all looked up to see the tiger demon lying on the ground out cold and Kagome striding to us. She hoped from the ring as the referee announced us as the winners. We all stood in silence as the crowd disappeared. Then suddenly Kagome squealed and lunged at the Hanyou. She wrapped her arms around his waist pulling him close. Youko started to growl because he didn't like this man so close to his 'future mate'.

"Inuyasha! How are you? I missed you! I wondered where you were. And I wondered why you hadn't contacted me!" She said in one breathe.

"You know him-" Hiei started.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE KAGOME!?" Yusuke yelled.

"I am competing." Kagome said as if it was obvious.

"NO…" Yusuke started.

"I AM THE LAST MEMBER OF YOUR TEAM AND I AM PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF FIGHTING NOW DON'T YELL AT ME YUSUKE!" Kagome yelled.

We all took a step back at the tone she used. The hanyou also swallowed and slipped from her grasp taking a step back.

"Fine." Yusuke spat.

"Well you gave that up quickly." Genkai said.

"There isn't anything I can do when she's like this." He growled.

"I agree with the boy. Well now that's out of the way, let's go see the others." Inuyasha said.

"The others?" Kuwabara asked.

Inuyasha sighed and started to walk. Kagome skipped beside him hanging off his arm. This made Youko bristle and growl as we followed the two to the hotel. I noticed that Kilo who followed stayed behind them like an obedient servant. We walked into the hotel and headed for the stairs. We walked past our floor to the top one. We walked into the hall and headed for a door. We opened it and stepped in. Inside was a room resembling ours but way larger. At a couch sat a Kitsune with a brown wolf youkai across from him.

They were playing cards. Beside the Kitsune sat an albino teen. On another couch sat a woman with black hair and black ears, she was a hanyou too. Then there was an imp with a staff watching everyone. Finally a tall silver haired demon with gold eyes and magenta markings was sitting in a chair. They all looked up and froze. They gaped at Kagome who still hung onto Inuyasha's arm. Suddenly Kagome sniffed and ran at the tall silver haired inu. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. The demon looked startled then wrapped his arms around her.

"Kagome-" He started.

"Brother." Kagome sniffed making us gap.

"Wait a minute! How is she your sister? If she's your sister that would make you my cousin and I have never met you." Yusuke said.

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"There is such thing as adoption." The Kitsune said.

Yusuke made an 'o' with his mouth. Kagome still hugged the tall inu. Suddenly she wasn't with him. She had tackled the Kitsune. Youko was glaring, cursing, and pouting at the same time.

"Shippo." She sobbed.

"How are you mother?" the Kitsune asked.

We gaped again.

"How-" Kuwabara started.

"Adoption." Inuyasha said.

Then Kagome was off the Kitsune and hugging the wolf.

"Hey sis." He laughed hugging her back.

"So the tall inu is your brother, and he and Inuyasha are brothers, and you are the wolf's sister, and the Kitsune's mother. How do the two women fit into the picture?" Genkai asked.

"Kanna is my mate." The Kitsune said hugging her close and casting us a look that said 'no touching'.

"And Kikyo is my mate." Inuyasha said sending us the same look.

"Kikyo you're a half demon." Kagome laughed.

"It happened after we mated." Kikyo said calmly.

"So Kikyo is my sister-in-law, and Kanna is my daughter-in-law. Who would have seen that coming?" Kagome asked.

Everyone grinned.

"What?" Yusuke asked.

"I am Kikyo's incarnation and Kanna used to be my enemy." Kagome said.

I looked back at Kikyo. She seemed very similar to Kagome.

"So who are you?" The wolf asked.

"Don't be rude Kouga." Kagome said.

"I'm Yusuke, Kagome's cousin." Yusuke said.

"This idiot is related to you?" Inuyasha asked as if double checking.

"Yes, and he's no more an idiot then you." Kagome retorted.

"So he's a huge idiot." The wolf concluded.

"Right." Kagome said.

"HEY!" Inuyasha and Yusuke yelled.

"I'm Kuwabara the great!" Kuwabara said grinning like an idiot.

"He's more of an idiot then Inuyasha and Yusuke combined." Kagome said under her breath.

Kuwabara glared at her.

"I'm Genkai, I'm their coach." Genkai said.

"And you can put up with them?" Shippo asked.

She looked us all over.

"Barely." She said.

We scowled at her.

"And I'm Kurama." I said.

"Ah I know you. You are the notorious thief." The inu said.

I winced slightly and nodded. Then they looked at Hiei who looked back.

"And this is Hiei." Yusuke finally said.

"Nh." Hiei said.

"That's the only word he knows." Kagome giggled.

Hiei scowled at her.

"Yeah say something else boy." Kuwabara said treating him like a dog.

Kuwabara was knocked to the ground before anyone could blink.

"Humans." Hiei said in an exasperated tone.

The imp savagely nodded in agreement.

"Hey Kanna you know Kagura is here right?" Kagome said suddenly.

Kanna looked up.

"I have not checked up on her in a while, so no I didn't know." Kanna said.

"You know she has a mate right?" She asked.

"WHAT?!" Inuyasha, Shippo, and Kouga yelled.

The women's and the inu's eyes widened.

"I didn't think she would ever get a mate." Inuyasha said.

"She mated with another wind master and they seem deeply in love." Kagome said with a flourish of her hands.

"So who are you guys?" Yusuke asked.

"I'm Inuyasha. I'm part silver inu demon."

"I'm Kikyo, I am part black inu. I used to be a priestess."

"I'm Kouga. I'm a wolf demon."

"I'm Shippo a Kitsune."

"I'm Kanna of the mirror."

"I'm Jaken."

Everyone looked at the tall inu when he didn't answer.

"I'm Sesshomaru."

-Bow you fool!- Youko yelled in my mind.

I did so at his tone. The others looked at me.

--Why?-- I asked.

-He's the king of the Makai!- Youko said.

My eyes widened.

"Your majesty." I said.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"What do you mean?" Yusuke asked.

"Sesshomaru is king of the Makai." Inuyasha snorted.

"And Kouga is my army general, Inuyasha is the prince, Kikyo is in charge of the servants, Shippo and Kanna are the head of my information department and spy department, and Jaken is my vassal." Sesshomaru said.

"Wait if Kagome's your sister then…." Genkai started.

"Correct Kagome is the princess and heir of the Makai."

Now we all gaped at Kagome who shrugged.


	5. Immortal Demon : Crossover

Itachi's POV:

We were all standing around the clearing. Our Leader, Pein, walked from the shadows of a tree and looked us over.

"We have found a new member."

Some started to whisper.

"But we must all go get him." He said.

We all looked at him.

"He will not come by himself? And why must we all go?" Sasori asked.

"He is strong and tricky. He is wanted in five different villages and they say he is one of the strongest ninjas alive." Pein said calmly. "And I do not know if he wishes to join."

Everyone stood in silence. Suddenly Zetsu slid from the shadows and whispered something to Pein. Then he slid back to the shadow of a tree.

"We have found him." Pein said.

With that we jumped into the trees following Pein quickly. We ran for less then five minutes. Then Pein sopped and dropped from the branches. We all did, making a semi circle in the trees. In front of us sitting against a tree was a person. It was hard to say if it was a man or a woman. They had ebony hair in a tight braid that hung over their shoulder. They also wore a black out fit that was reasonably tight and they had a back pack on their back. Their head was bowed and their arms hung limply by their side. They looked dead. They had a sword through their heart and sticking out their back. They also had three kuni and six shuriken in various vital spots. They were coated in blood. Everyone just looked at the person a moment.

"Tobi go see if the person is alive."

"It's obvious they're dead." Kakuzu said. "They have a sword through their heart."

"Still. Go check Tobi." Pein said.

Tobi was for once silent and serious. He waked cautiously from beside Zetsu, towards the body. When he reached it he went to check for a pulse. He cried out and tried to jump back as the person's head whipped up and a hand grabbed Tobi's arm. Everyone froze. Even Tobi froze. We all looked at the person. All we saw were soft brown eyes. The rest of their face was covered by a mask like the copy ninja's. They had a flat chest so I guessed it was a guy. He slowly stood up bracing himself against the tree. When he was up he let Tobi go. Tobi jumped back to beside Zetsu. The person looked at us a moment.

"Ahh, Akatsuki, I wondered when you would come for me." The person said.

The voice was deep but had a feminine hint in it.

"How are you alive?" Kisame asked.

The man just gave a smirk, or at least what we thought was a smirk, under his mask.

"Will you join?" Pein asked.

The man kept silent. He looked down at himself and pulled out all the shuriken and kuni. We all gaped as the wounds instantly healed. Then the man grasped the hilt of the sword. He pulled it out and held it in front of himself as if ready to attack. Now the only signs he had been critically hurt was the blood staining him.

"What happened?" Pein asked.

"Enemy ninja. Some were coming for me and some saw one of your members near by and decided to go get him. We all met up just a little while ago."

We were all immediately on guard.

"How many left alive?" Konan asked.

"None." The man said blandly.

"How far from here?" Pein asked.

"About three kilometres north."

"Itachi go see." Pein said while keeping his eyes on the man.

I gave a curt nod and the shot off. In less then three minutes I reached a large clearing. I starred at the bodies littering it. There were at least a hundred. They had all been killed. Body pieces were scattered everywhere. It looked as if some had been torn apart by claws or razor sharp fangs of a beast. Blood soaked the ground and many of the bodies weren't even recognizable as bodies. I felt a small wave of nausea wash over me. I had seen killing but none this gruesome. I had killed but not like this. I abruptly turned and shot back to the others. As I landed softly in the clearing they all looked at me. They blinked. I guessed it was because of my pale face.

"There are at least a hundred bodies. They have all been killed. Some aren't even recognizable as once humans." I said quietly.

They all heard and gaped slightly. I stepped back to my place by Kisame.

"You killed them all?" Pein asked the man.

"Yes."

"Will you join us?"

"Why?"

The question caught us off guard.

"Because you would have an actual place to go and because we could use you." Pein said.

"Hmm." The man said.

Then he looked us all over. His eyes flashed at me with an emotion I couldn't catch.

"I see you are still alive Sasori. Is being a puppet nicer then being human?" He asked.

Sasori stiffened slightly. Almost no one knew that he was a puppet.

"And Zetsu, I see you still like to eat humans. Did you eat your family? I see you are also still bipolar."

Now Zetsu stood still.

"Tobi it is nice to see you again, but I guess you can't remember me. You have changed since the incident."

Tobi was still and silent. Everyone looked between the man and Tobi.

"Hidan, I see you worship Jashin. I thought you swore you would never believe in that religion."

Hidan scowled but stayed silent.

"Kakuzu have you gotten better at sewing people together and stealing hearts?"

Kakuzu just looked at her.

"Deidara don't you want to go back to living with your uncle and aunt? I heard they want you back."

Deidara took a step back, an almost frightened look in his eyes. Everyone watched him a moment.

"And Pein I see you still wear the ridiculous amount of piercings."

Pein just stayed silent and blank.

"Konan, still feeling guilty for the death of your husband? And how is your daughter?"

Everyone spun and gaped at her. Se had a real family. Konan looked a bit shocked. Then she looked away emotion showing in her eyes for once. Then the man turned to me.

"And Itachi, it is nice to see you again. You have changed quite a bit."

They all glanced at me. I looked the man over again, not really understanding what he had said or recognizing him. Then the man turned to Kisame.

"And Kisame do you think your wife is in heaven or hell?"

Now everyone gaped at Kisame. He had had a wife? I had noticed he never seemed interested in women but to have a wife. Kisame gripped the hilt of his sword tightly while glaring at the man.

"You are blamed for killing your wife, did you know?" The man asked.

Kisame was griping the hilt so hard blood seeped from his knuckles.

"I never killed her." He ground out.

"Really? Well you are responsible for part of her death." The man said.

Kisame didn't argue.

"She was a weak woman."

"Take that back." Kisame growled.

"No." The man said.

Before we could stop him Kisame shot forwards his sword sweeping down for the kill. Just as the sword started to fall the man stepped back. The sword sliced just through the front of his shirt and the front of his mask. The sword didn't draw any blood or touch skin though. Then man scowled.

"Seems I lost more blood then I thought. I should have been able to dodge that completely." He said.

The front of his shirt hung open and everyone gaped. Kisame also stopped and starred. He had sliced through bandages that had been wrapped around the man's chest. The bandages fell away to reveal breast. The mask also fell too and showed soft lips and a feminine face. Everyone was silent a moment. The _woman _scowled again and pulled her shirt closed, tying a bandage around her waist to keep the shirt closed.

"You're a woman?" Kisame choked out.

"Yes."

Her voice was softer, not as deep anymore. The woman just stood waiting.

"What is your name?" Pein asked.

"My name is Kagome Higurashi."

Everyone just starred another moment.

"So the man we have been after to join is a woman, un." Deidara said.

Kagome snorted in amusement.

"Will you still join?" Pein asked.

"I guess. I have nothing better to do." Kagome said.

"Girls can't fight as well as men. They're only good for sacrifices." Hidan said ignoring the glare from Konan.

"Don't talk to your elders like that." Kagome snapped at Hidan.

"You're not my elder. I'm at least a couple years older then you." Hidan snorted.

Kagome just blinked then she hid a smirk.

"So how old do you think I am?" Kagome asked.

"Eighteen." Hidan said.

"Maybe nineteen, un." Deidara said.

"Eighteen." Kisame said.

Kagome burst out laughing. Everyone just watched slightly confused as she almost doubled over with laughter. She clutched her side and started to stop after a minute. Finally she had stopped laughing. She straightened still grinning.

"I'm not eighteen, I wish I was." She said.

"So how old are you?" Sasori asked.

Kagome looked up at him.

"I'm five hundred and nineteen."

Everyone starred for a moment.

"I don't get the joke, un." Deidara said after a minute.

"It's not a joke." Kagome said dangerously.

"You can't be human then… We saw you pull weapons from vital spots and you still lived, I guess that already proves you aren't human. Are you immortal like Hidan?" Kisame asked.

He had slowly came and stood next to me again.

"Even I can't live forever." Hidan said.

"And the cuts healed instantly are you a medic?" Konan asked.

Kagome looked us over.

"I do have medic skills but I did not use them. My body heals on its own very quickly. And no I am not immortal like Hidan. I'm just immortal."

Everyone watched a minute.

"So you are an immortal human?" Pein asked.

"Who said I was human?" Kagome asked.

"What are you then?" Pein asked.

"I'm a demon." Kagome said.

Everyone stiffened.

"You mean a demon container?" Konan asked.

Kagome shook her head.

"Even the demons containers now aren't that immortal." Kagome said.

"Demons don't exsist, except those in human containers." I said.

Everyone looked at me.

"But demons did exsist once." Kagome said.

Everyone looked back to her.

"There are no records of any." Pein said.

"Five hundred years ago demons roamed the lands. There were more demons then humans. Some large like the demons now, some small. There were strong demon lords and low weak demons. It would take armies of humans to defeat a demon lord and only one human even untrained to kill weaker ones." Kagome said.

Everyone started to listen intensely.

"There was a jewel called the Shikon No Tama. It was a sacred jewel that could grant anyone one wish. Many demons were after it. It was the duty of the Shikon No Miko to protect it. I was the Shikon No Miko."

"Mikos are human" I said.

Everyone looked at me again.

"How do you know, un?" Deidara asked.

"Book." I said.

"He is correct. Mikos are human women. And at the time I was a human. I traveled with a group of two demons, two humans, and a hanyou. I had shattered the jewel on accident and we were collecting the shards while trying to kill a certain demon. Well on day we met up with the demon. It turned into a horrible battle. Both of the humans died. The two demons died, and the hanyou died of wounds after the battle. Others also died, like a wolf clan and its leader, an undead priestess, a two headed dragon, and an imp….a demon lord named Sesshomaru and I were the only survivors. I got the last shards of the jewel and fused them. I got the wish. The wish had to be selfless though of it would be created again in the future. It was a hard choice. I really wanted to wish for the life of my friends but I couldn't because that was selfish. In the end I picked a wish. I wished that all demons would become human and slowly the knowledge of demons would fade from the memory of human kind. The jewel disappeared and the wish came true. But there was a side affect. The wish was so large that I had to take all the powers of the demon lords into me. I became a demon myself. I am actually four different demons. I'm a silver inu youkai, a black cat youkai, a vampire bat youkai, and a shapes shifter youkai: The silver inu from Sesshomaru of the west, the cat from Tohuro of the east, the vampire bat from Kusko of the south, and the shape shifter from Kito of the north. Each one has certain abilities. I keep a human appearance when I want though. One other thing is I am immortal completely. Even demons could be killed but I can't. I have tried to kill myself every possible way and all I do is experience the pain, and then heal."

There was silence a moment. Some of us thought she might be mad but she had lived through a sword through her heart so there had to be some sort of explanation.

"So you're an immortal demon?" Pein asked.

Kagome nodded.

"How long did it take for demons to fade from memory?" Sasori asked.

"A hundred years. Then all books on demons mysteriously burst in to flame." Kagome said.

"And how do we have these demons in human containers?" Pein asked.

"We have those demons because they slipped from the underworld. Very rarely does it happen, but it can happen." Kagome said.

"If you're a demon prove it." Hidan said.

Kagome sighed and suddenly she grew two long fangs and claws. Her eyes turned red and her hair turned a deeper black, if that was possible. She also got two large wings on her back. They seemed a bit like bat wings. Everyone took a step back as her aurora grew too. She grinned and glided to Hidan.

"Need more proof Hidan? I could always take some of your blood."

She grabbed his wrist and brought it to her mouth. She was still grinning as her fangs touched his wrist poking the skin gently. He was starring wide eyes at her.

"No I believe you." He strangled out getting weighed down by her aurora.

"Are you sure. I have been a bit deprived of any strong blood." Kagome said.

"I-I'm sure." He stuttered.

We hadn't seen him stutter before. It was amusing. Suddenly I blinked. I squinted to look at Kagome closer. My sight was getting worse and I knew it. Kagome glanced at me and let Hidan's wrist go. Hidan immediately pulled it back and took a step away from Kagome. She turned human again. She glided to me and looked at me with a sad look. I blinked at her and suddenly I remembered her.

_..--._

_I was sitting in our sitting room. A nine year old Sasuke was sitting beside me. He was fidgeting._

"_Stop that. Sit still." I said._

"_Okay."_

_He immediately sat still. In front of us was our father. He was talking to a woman with soft brown eyes and long black hair. She looked to be about nineteen. She sat still and listened closely as he told her about the house, the Uchiha clan, and what was expected of her while she stayed with us. After wards she smiled and bowed. M father gave her a nod and left. She smiled at both of us. Sasuke smiled back but I stayed indifferent. _

"_Hello my name is Kagome Zetsumi. I will be staying here for a while." She said._

"_My name is Sasuke and this is my older brother Itachi. How long will you be staying with us for?" Sasuke asked._

_Kagome smiled again._

"_For a year." She said._

"_Nh." I said._

"_I will also be training with you two." She said._

_She smiled again and Sasuke smiled back. _

_.--._

_She helped my mother around the house and helped Sasuke train a lot. She also offered to train with me but I refused. I hadn't wanted any help. A year passed quickly. I had been planning out how to kill my clan for the whole time. I planned to do it once Kagome left. Even though we hadn't trained together I liked her. She was kind and always listened. She never had expectations of me and if I did something wrong she didn't mind. We talked a lot. I was fourteen at the time and we got along very well. We talked every day. I gave the last piece of my heart that wasn't frozen, too her. I think she knew. She acted like she did anyways. I told her that I loved her even. She smiled and told me she knew and she liked me as well. She hadn't said love but it still had made my heart soar to hear her say those words. I still was going to kill my clan but I didn't wish to kill her so I would wait. I had tried talking her in to staying but she would always look crestfallen and tell me no matter what happened she couldn't stay. I, Uchiha Itachi, had begged but she had held me in a hug and told me she couldn't. I didn't understand but I respected her choice and decisions. I had decided to enjoy my time with her and after I had killed my clan I would get stronger and then go find her. Then one night I was walking past my father's door when I heard Kagome's voice and his._

"_I was wondering if you would marry my son Itachi." My father said._

"_Itachi? You want me to marry him?"_

"_Yes. You get along very well and you are strong. You could keep him in line but still keep him strong."_

"_But our ages are very different." Kagome said._

"_You are only older then him by four years. That's what your papers say. I am older then my wife by four years also." He said._

"_He is too young to marry." Kagome said._

"_Then we'll engage you two until he is old enough."_

_There was silence a moment._

"_I can't marry your son. We are too different and I have secrets. I can not love him."_

_I felt my breath catch. For once in a long time I felt my heart ache, no not ache. It shattered. I clasped the shirt above my heart and hung my head. Then there were foot steps. The door opened and Kagome stepped out closing the door behind her. She looked at me and she froze. Our eyes met. I saw sorrow and remorse in her eyes._

"_Please forgive me." She whispered._

_I could hear desperation in her voice that begged me to understand. I ignored it. I turned away from her and walked away. As I turned the corner I saw her looking at the floor and walking away. I even saw tears but I had no pity or kindness at the moment. That night I planned to kill her along with my clan the next day. She had caused me pain just like all the others. She had taken the last piece of my heart and shattered it. After wondering for hours I decided to ask her why she couldn't love me. I stood up and walked out my door. I hadn't found her in her room but sensed some one outside so I had gone to see if it was her. I had found her sitting on a bench. She was just sitting and looking at the moon. She had her bags packed beside her. She looked in my direction. Brown eyes pierced into mine. I still saw sorrow in them. I had turned and walked away. I decided I didn't want to talk to her. When I had woken in the morning I had thought it had all been a dream. That morning I had found out Kagome had disappeared the night before and no one could find a trace of her. That day I had made up my mind not to ever give my heart away again. There was no heart left in me to give away. That night I killed my clan._

_. OF FLASHBACK.--._

I had tried to forget her and had succeeded. But now I remembered her. She looked the same as she had ten years ago. I also noticed she had a different last name. She was standing a few feet in front of me. Her eyes held the same sorrow as before. She bowed and stayed bowed.

"Have you forgiven me yet?" She asked still bowing.

Everyone was watching even closer then before, now.

"No." I said coldly.

It was one word that dripped with venom and ice. Kagome flinched and stood back up. She took a couple steps back and turned away.

"What does she want your forgiveness for, un?" Deidara asked.

Neither of us answered. There was an uncomfortable silence a moment.

"Well let's get going." Pein said breaking the silence.

We all followed him as he jumped off into the trees. I noticed everyone kept an eye on Kagome. I also noticed Kagome watched me most of the time. She still had a sad look in her eyes. We jumped through the trees for at least two hours before we dropped from them. We walked into a cave and Pein released the genjutsu in the back revealing a door. The door looked like every other part of the cave when the genjutsu was on and you could not lift the genjutsu unless you knew exactly where and what it was. Pein opened the door and we all followed him inside. We immediately headed for the meeting room where we all sat at the large table. I noticed Kagome sat across from me. I just ignored her. Pein cleared his throat and spoke after that.

"Well Kagome welcome to Akatsuki. We don't have a partner for you yet but we may in the future. You will either do solo missions or go with someone else if we need you too."

Kagome nodded. Pein pulled a box out and slid it to Kagome. Kagome opened it to find an Akatsuki cloak and a ring. She slid the ring on and bowed her head to Pein.

"Thank you."

"You can have to room between Kisame's and Itachi's." Pein said.

Kagome nodded again.

"Well now that that's out of the way on to the next order of business."

He pulled a picture from his pocket.

"Hidan and Kakuzu I need you two to go kill these people. You leave tomorrow morning."

Kakuzu grabbed the picture and scanned it before nodding and handing it to Hidan. Hidan grinned and nodded.

"Can I bring the woman back so I can sacrifice her?" He asked.

Pein shrugged.

"As long as she dies in the end."

"Hidan I remember when your parents used to sacrifice people and you were horrified and said you would never join their religion." Kagome said.

Everyone turned to them.

"You knew Hidan when he was younger?" Pein asked.

"I lived in the same village as him for a year. His parents believed in a god named Jashin. They sacrificed people and such. When Hidan was about five he hated killing and blood. He swore never to believe in his parent's religion. But by the time he turned six he had out grown his fear and liked to kill. He was also swearing at the age too." Kagome said.

Hidan scowled at her and the rest looked at him.

"So is Higurashi your real last name?" Pein asked interrupting.

Kagome nodded.

"Yes. You know I actually came from this time."

Everyone blinked.

"I lived in the future and I accidentally fell down a well on some shrine grounds. I was sent to the past where I made the wish. After that I got stuck in the past. I had hoped to find my family in the future but my wish changed history and my family was born but they never had a daughter." Kagome said.

Everyone was silent a minute.

"You used other names though?" Pein asked.

"Of course. People would get suspicious if a woman named Kagome Higurashi had been to almost every village across Japan and she always looked eighteen or nineteen."

We all nodded at the logic. Then Pein looked to me.

"You two know each other."

"Yes." Kagome said softly.

"You know if you want him to forgive you for something he won't." Kisame said.

Kagome opened her mouth to say something then closed it.

"Itachi." She said after a second.

I looked at her. No one said anything, they just watched us.

"Why won't you forgive me?" She asked.

"You do not deserve to be forgiven." I said glaring at her.

"I know…" She said sadly.

She was getting on my nerves. I didn't even want to look at her let alone talk to her. I glared at her and stood up. My mangekyou sharingan had flickered on unconsciously. Everyone scooted away from the two of us leaving at least five feet between me and the others.

"I gave you the last piece of my heart. It was the only piece I had left. You shattered it! You didn't even give me an explanation! Then you left! You knew how I felt! You played with my heart then threw it away!"

I had lost my self control for the moment. I, the stoic, cold, cruel, but always calm Uchiha, who never showed emotion, had yelled in anger. Everyone was starring at me and gaping, even Pein and Konan. They all had slid even farther back. I took deep breathes. And then I stormed out of the room.

Kagome's POV:

They all sat gapping at Itachi. Then he stormed out. They all sat in shock starring at the door. Then they tore their eyes away and looked at me. I sat in my chair. My head was bowed and I felt like sobbing. What he had said was true. He was right. I didn't deserve his forgiveness. I shook slightly. I had known how Itachi had felt. I knew he had had almost no feelings or heart left. I _had_ played with his heart and thrown it to the side. I shouldn't have left him with out an explanation either. I hadn't even apologized I had just asked for forgiveness. I felt a tear roll over my cheek. I had loved him too. I still did. I had really wished to stay with him but being a demon I couldn't. Many people thought immortality was a gift but it was a curse. I had had to live for years with out friends, family, or love. I didn't regret making the wish though. It had changed the world, a lot for the better. But He was the first person I had ever loved other then Inuyasha. I remembered the day Inuyasha had told me he didn't love me. I remembered how heart broken I had felt. I knew that was what Itachi felt too.

_..--._

_We were walking quickly past the fields. I watched Inuyasha as he walked ahead of me. At noon when we stopped Inuyasha walked up to me._

"_Can we talk Kagome?" He asked._

_I nodded and followed him into the trees. When we were a good distance from the others he looked at me. He looked at the ground and took a deep breath._

"_Kagome… I know you love me."_

_I nodded._

"_But I can't love you."_

_My heart stopped. I held my breath as I heard the shatter of glass that had once been my heart. Inuyasha looked up at me, and I saw sorry and remorse in his eyes._

"_Will you forgive me?"_

_I had just turned and ran back to the group. I swore to myself to never be like him, as I felt a few tears slid down my face._

_. OF FLASHBACK.--._

I had done the exact same thing to Itachi that Inuyasha had done to me. I had sworn not to do it to anyone but I had done it to the only person I had actually loved in five hundred years. I wiped the tear from my face but I didn't look up.

"Is what he said true?" Kisame asked.

"Yes every word of it." I whispered trying to keep my voice emotionless.

"He loved you?" Kisame quietly asked.

"Yes. And I broke the last piece of his heart."

I stood up and grabbed the cloak. Konan also got to her feet

"I'll show you to your room." She said emotionlessly.

I followed her out the door.

Kisame's POV:

The two women left leaving us alone.

"I can't fucking believe that Itachi actually yelled." Hidan said.

"I have never seen him show that much emotion." Pein said.

"I can't believe he admitted he loved that woman right in front of us, un." Deidara said.

"I can't believe said a whole paragraph." I said.

I looked around. Everyone was silent even Tobi.

"We'd better not bother him or go near him for a while." I said.

"Kisame is right. Stay away from him. And don't bother Kagome either." Pein said standing up.

Then everyone else also stood. We drifted out and headed for our rooms or the kitchen. I headed to my room.

Konan's POV:

I walked Kagome to her room. I watched her the whole time. She tried to stand straight and look emotionless, but her shoulders slumped and sorrow and regret were written all over her face. She looked a bit broken. When I reached the room between Kisame's and Itachi's I opened the door and she walked in not really looking where she was going. When we were inside she glanced around. The room was all set up. It was a deep green. Usually partners had rooms right next to one another but Kisame had wanted the blue room next to this one and Itachi had wanted the red one on the other side of this one. Pein had just shrugged. This room had a large double bed already made up with green blankets and such. Beside it was a nightstand. Then there was a desk and chair, and a shelf. There was also a door leading to a bathroom at the end. Kagome walked to her bed and dropped her bag to the floor. She then sat down starring at the wall. I watched her a moment. Then I shut the door and walked over to her. I sat beside her.

"Want to talk?" I asked.

She looked at me. I saw unshed tears in her eyes.

"I always loved him."

I knew she was talking about Itachi.

"His father asked if I would marry him. Itachi also begged me to stay with him. But I couldn't. Since I don't age they would notice something. Immortality isn't a gift it's a curse. I have been travelling for over five hundred years. I can never stay at any one place more then two years or people get suspicious. I can cast illusions but I can't always wear one. And I can shape shift but only into animals. I wanted to stay with him. I wanted to marry him. I loved him. But I couldn't. He over heard me say so. He thought I didn't love him. I wanted him to understand but I also didn't want him to love me. It was so hard on me. I haven't had real friends for five hundred years because I can't get close to people. If I do they learn my secret and it's so hard to leave them. I haven't had friends, family, or love. Then when I did have love my curse made sure I didn't experience it long. Itachi is the only person I have loved in five hundred years. He's the only person who loved me back in all my life too. I had a love long ago but he didn't love me."

I saw tears fall roll over her cheeks.

"I wanted to explain but I didn't want to lie. I couldn't tell him the truth so I didn't say anything. I love him. I really do but I don't deserve love. No I can't love. I need to get over him but I feel shameful that I hurt him so much. I feel it's too late to say I'm sorry too."

I rested a hand on her shoulder. Tears flowed unstopping down her face. She didn't sob though just let the tears go.

"It's never too late to say you're sorry." I said.

Then I stood up and walked out the door. Kagome had her face in her hands but I saw tears still. I shut the door behind me and walked away.

Itachi's POV:

I had been in my room sitting on the edge of my bed. My room was next to Kagome's room and I had heard Konan and Kagome's conversation. I felt a tinge of regret as I listened to her silence. I heard the escaped sob every once in a while and knew she was crying. I heard Konan leave. I waited a minute. Then I walked to my door. I stepped out and walked to Kagome's I reached to open the door when I heard Kagome say something else.

"I'm so sorry. I just have to say it. I love you. I just want to say it." She whispered.

I barely caught it. I pulled my arm back and walked back to my room. If she needed and wanted to say that then she could but I didn't think my answer would be very kind. I had no heart left. I turned and walked back to my room. I shut my door behind me and returned to my bed.

Kisame's POV:

I sat on my bed listening to Kagome and Konan. I felt sorry for both Kagome and Itachi. Itachi needed some one in his life. Ever since Itachi had joined us I had noticed that he never even kissed a woman. When we had gone to towns and bars and such woman had flocked over him but he would push them aside not even talking to them. He was nicer to women with black hair and brown eyes though. Now I knew why. I heard as Konan left. Then I popped my head out the door. I watched as Itachi walked out his room. He stopped in front of Kagome's door and went to open it. Then I heard Kagome say something else but didn't catch the words. Itachi stopped and his face got harder. He abruptly turned and headed back to his room. I sighed. The two needed to sit and talk to one another. Maybe if they worked things out Itachi would unthaw a bit.

I sighed again and walked to Kagome's door. I knocked softly. I got no answer so I opened the door. I looked around and didn't see her. Then I noticed that the bathroom door was closed and I heard water. I smiled slightly and walked in shutting the door behind me. I sat down on the desk chair and waited. Five minutes later Kagome walked from the bathroom in nothing but a towel. She glanced at me and then walked to her bag. I watched her the whole time. She was really beautiful. I could see why Itachi would love her. She had perfect skin, nice legs, and curves in all the right places, and her black hair would make anyone want to stroke it. She grabbed some clothes and then walked back to the bathroom. She looked like my wife. My wife had had long black hair and had been really beautiful. I pinched my lips together as I remembered her.

.--.

I had asked her to marry me when I was twenty. She was the only woman who had loved me even though I didn't look human. I felt sorrow rise in me. I had been happy with her. We had lived in the forest outside the village of mist. We had lived in a small cottage surrounded by gardens she had made. I would go to the village every day because that was where I was a ninja. My wife would say 'I'll see you tonight' every time I left. I would smile and say the same thing. I was happy. She was happy. The village had thought I had been stupid to marry her though. She wasn't just a regular woman. She could see prophesy. Many people were unnerved by this. She had once told a woman that her child would die in an accident. Everyone had laughed. Then when the child had died the towns people had called her a demon and tried to kill her. I had found her and helped her. I remembered when she would sit or stand and her eyes would turn a foggy blue. Then she would tell me what she saw. I was never afraid of her. Then one day I had left the house to go to the village. She had looked sadly up at me and kissed me. She hadn't said 'I'll see you later tonight' she had said 'Goodbye'. I had immediately sensed something was wrong but she had told me to go. I had obeyed.

_..--._

_When I had reached the village I had been grabbed by the guards. I was quite surprised but didn't fight. Then the village leader had walked up to me. He looked at me and scowled. His words were burned in my mind._

"_You are a valuable part of this village but your wife is not. She is dangerous and we will destroy any threat to our village. If you are smart you will not mourn for her and you will forget her."_

_I had been horrified at what he was saying. Then he headed for my place with the guards dragging me behind. I had become numb and let the guards drag me. My mind had been frantic. When we had reached the clearing we had found my wife sitting on her swing. It had been a swing she had made that was extended from two branches above. She was wearing a green dress and her sandals. She had had her hair tied back with a green ribbon and she looked to be waiting. When we walked into the clearing she stood up and smiled softly at me. My breath caught as the village leader pulled out a kanta and stepped forwards._

"_You are a threat to my village and I will deal with you."_

_He kept walking to her. By now I was fighting the guards with all I had._

"_Run!" I yelled._

_She had just smiled at me and waited I fought even harder. I threw on guard off my arm effectively knocking him out. Then I knocked a second out. I just threw the third to the side as I dived for the leader as he raised his kanta. I had almost reached him when he brought the sword down. I screamed as I saw the steel rip through my wife's skin. Her eyes got dimmer and she seemed to fall in slow motion. The leader stepped aside and I scrambled to my wife. I pulled her close a sob erupted from my throat. She lifted a hand and stroked my cheek, streaking blood on it, but I didn't care._

"_Kisame, I love you, don't ever forget."_

_Then the last light in her eyes had dimmed and her hand fell from my face. I sobbed again hugging her to me. I heard the leader behind me sniff._

"_You shouldn't have married her but that has been fixed. Come on then. We'll set up a house for you in the village. It will better having you closer."_

_I had felt anger burn in me as I saw the bloody corpse of my wife. I was stained in her blood. I felt furious. The man who had killed her just brushed it aside and talked to me as if I was being forgiven, then he was ordering me. I slowly set my wife's body down. I saw the guards getting up. I grasped the hilt of my sword and stood up. I whipped around to the guards decapitating two at once. The last guard gaped once before I also sliced his head off. Leader gaped once then glared at me. I just lunged forwards and sliced at him. He brought up his kanta in defence but my blade sheared it off at the hilt while slicing up him. He fell to the ground a lifeless corpse. I dropped my sword and turned back to my wife. I sobbed again and turned to the garden shed. I grabbed a shovel and dug the grave myself. I gently laid my wife in it and refilled it. I picked all her favourite flowers laying them on the grave. I walked to the house still feeling utterly broken. I walked in and grabbed everything I needed. Then I saw the note on the table. I saw it was addressed to me from my wife. I tore it open quickly._

To Kisame

I know you will see me dead. I saw my death in one of my prophesies. I know you will wonder why I didn't tell you. The thing with this prophesy is that I saw what would happen if I told you. If I told you we both would have died in the end. At least this way you still live. Please go on, there will be others who will accept you.

Love Kara

_Tears slid down my face. I grabbed my bag and pulled it on. Then I walked outside. I grabbed the corpses and three laid them in front of the clearing. Then I grabbed some matches. I struck on and threw it on the pile of papers in the living room. They immediately caught fire. I walked outside and sat down beside my wife's grave. I watched as my house burned. I used water jutsus to put out the flames that fell into the forest. My wife had loved the forest and plants and I wouldn't let them die. When the house was ash and rubble and I felt the presence of other ninja heading this way I stood up. I grabbed my sword and masked my presence before shooting off away from my home, village, and my wife, Kara._

_. OF FLASHBACK—_

I felt one tear run down my face. If I had acted sooner I could have saved my wife. But I hadn't acted faster and she had died. I wiped the tear away just as Kagome stepped from the bathroom. My breath caught as I saw her. She was wearing some forest green cotton pants and a forest green t-shirt. She also had her hair tied back in a braid with a green tie. She was almost the spitting image of my wife.

"Kara." I whispered.

Kagome looked at me and gave me a soft smile.

"I look like her don't I?"

I just looked at her.

"I'm sorry about her death. But she was weak. If she had trained as a ninja like I suggested she would have lived." Kagome said.

I looked at her.

"You knew her?" I asked softly.

"Yes. I knew Kara for a year. I was the one who helped her get away when the boy died and everyone tried to kill her calling her a demon. I let her escape while holding her off. That was the exact same day you found her." Kagome said.

I took a deep breath. I wished she was still alive.

"When I saw the town's people they thought I was her, that's how I distracted them." Kagome laughed softly. "Many people thought we were twins."

I looked at her again. Her personality was the same too. I smiled softly.

"So any reason you're in my room?" Kagome asked.

I looked her over again. She seemed to have gotten control of her emotions. I couldn't shake the thought of my wife when I looked at her. I sat starring into her eyes a moment. She cleared her throat and I blinked.

"I came to see if you were all right and if you wanted a tour." I said.

Kagome gave me a brilliant smile. I quickly looked away. It was the same smile my wife had given me. I was going to forget this was Kagome not Kara if she kept doing things like that. I sighed slightly and stood heading for the door. We both walked out and down the halls. I pointed out each member's room and the living room. I showed her the meeting room again, the kitchen, the dojos, and the front door. Then I showed her the training grounds which were a large clearing that had a dirt floor.

When that was done we head back to the kitchen. It was about dinner and we were both hungry. As we walked in we found Tobi trying to cook something. I just sat and watched, while Kagome giggled and went to help him. I watched Kagome's every movement. After a while Deidara, Sasori, Konan, Hidan, Kakuzu, and Pein walked in. They also sat watching the two or chatting. Deidara kept glancing at me and following my line of sight but I ignored him. I was deep in my own thoughts. When Tobi and Kagome had finished cooking they dished the food out. It looked lovely. Usually Tobi cooked and the food was deep brown or burnt badly. But with Kagome helping it looked and tasted wonderful. Deidara had tears in his eyes. When Kagome went to take his dishes to the sink he hugged her tightly around the waist still sitting.

"That was so good. Thank you, un." He said sniffing.

Pein grinned, Konan snorted softly, Sasori just looked at his partner like he was an idiot, Tobi also thanked Kagome, Hidan chuckled darkly, Kakuzu just ignored them, and Kagome laughed. I just watched. Kagome quickly cleaned up and stuffed the leftovers into the fridge. I noticed she still left a plate of food out but I knew who it was for.

Kagome's POV:

I grabbed the plate of food and walked out the door heading to Itachi's room. When I reached it I knocked softly. The door swung open and he looked at me emotionlessly. I held the food out. He looked at it then me.

"I didn't poison it." I said blankly.

He slowly took it. I just turned and walked away. I heard his door shut a minute later. I walked back to the kitchen where the others were debating on a movie to watch. I watched a moment.

"Adventure!" Tobi said.

"Comedy, un." Deidara said.

"Religion." Hidan said.

"Uh…Drama?" Pein asked.

"How about horror." Kisame said.

"Horror." I said too.

Everyone looked up at me. Kisame grinned.

"There two votes for horror. Horror wins." Kisame said.

"I guess horror is okay, un." Deidara said.

Everyone else shrugged. We all walked to the living room where everyone plunked down on the two couches, and the few chairs. It seemed Kisame had rented a horror to watch and he tossed it to Tobi who set it up. He flicked the TV on and sat down beside me. I was also beside Kisame. Hidan flicked the lights off and the movie started. It was some horror movie about a murdered who was locked in a mansion in the middle of no where with a girl, her younger brother, and her boyfriend. All the power was out and the phone lines down. Everyone was pretty into it. Tobi was into it the most though. At each scary part he would latch onto me and burry his face/mask into my shoulder. The others glanced at him but didn't say anything. Then when it was over Pein and Konan headed off together. Kisame also left with one last glance at me. Sasori and Kakuzu also headed off in separate directions. Tobi said a shaking goodnight and sprinted to his room. I noticed that Hidan and Deidara grinned at one another and stayed. I also waited. They noticed and grinned at me.

"What are you planning?" I asked.

"Well we had this plan where we might scare Tobi to death." Hidan grinned.

"Hmm." I said.

"You know that all through dinner Kisame starred at you and he glanced at you all through the movie. I think he likes you, un." Deidara teased.

I looked at him.

"I look like his dead wife."

This wiped the smile from Deidara's face.

"I heard you say he had a wife, so he really did, un?" He asked.

"Yes but that is for him to tell you if he wishes." I said.

They nodded. Then they jumped up with twin grins.

"Well off to scare Tobi, un." Deidara said.

They both slipped out. I just walked to my room where I changed to pyjamas. I slipped under my covers and turned my lap off. I slowly drifted off.

.--.

I woke suddenly as some one shook my shoulder. I blinked at Tobi and then looked to my alarm clock. It said ten after one. I yawned.

"Yes Tobi?" I asked.

"Can Tobi sleep with you? Tobi is scared. I saw some one with a knife like in the movies and some one kept calling my name. When I walked into the hall some one jumped out at me and I got really scared."

I knew it had been Hidan and Deidara.

"Fine, you can sleep with me."

I slid back and opened the covers. Tobi quickly jumped in. He cuddled up to me like a six year old. I yawned again and drifted off again.

.--.

This time when I woke I saw that it was about eight. I sat up and looked down at Tobi who was clinging to my waist. I shook him gently.

"Tobi wake up." I said.

Tobi stirred and looked up.

"Good morning Kagome."

"Good morning Tobi."

"Why does Kagome have cat ears?" he asked.

"I turned into my cat youkai for last night." I said.

"Wow."

Tobi sat up and rubbed my ears. I giggled. It was like what I had done to Inuyasha.

"Can Kagome turn into a full cat?" He asked.

"Yes. The shape shifter part of me lets me turn into any animal."

"Can Tobi see you as a cat?"

I laughed.

"I guess so but only if you let me accompany you as a cat for a while and if you don't tell the others."

"Okay, but why does Kagome want to stay like a cat in front of the others?"

"Because I haven't changed shape in a while and I need to practice." I said.

"Okay."

I stood up and started to strip.

"What is Kagome doing?" Tobi asked a little embarrassed.

He had turned away.

"Well cats don't wear clothes." I said.

"Kagome is so smart, Tobi wouldn't have thought of that!" He said.

As soon as I was undressed I took a deep breath and started to change. When I was done I looked up at Tobi who was now very large and meowed. He looked down at me and gasped.

"You're so beautiful Kagome."

"Remember don't call me Kagome." I said.

"Wow! You can talk well like that."

"Yes. Now just call me Chan while in front of the others."

He nodded quickly. Then he picked me up. I looked at myself from his arms, in the mirror above my dresser. I was pure black and had soft brown eyes. I was a full grown and looked like the perfect cat. Tobi stroked me softly and I purred. He then skipped out the door. It felt a bit bouncy from his arms but I didn't mind. We headed to the kitchen where he set me on the counter. He started to cook breakfast and with my instructions he did it perfectly. After a while everyone walked in except Hidan and Kakuzu who had left for their mission. –I had heard them leave at about six- Even Zetsu and Itachi joined us. Itachi though had at least five feet of space on every side at all times. Tobi set the table quickly.

"So scared last night Tobi, un?" Deidara asked hiding a grin.

"Tobi was scared at first then he went and saw Kagome and Kagome let him sleep with her." Tobi sang.

Deidara gaped as he watched Tobi set the table. Kisame also glanced at the mask wearing man. Itachi looked emotionless and the others grinned at Deidara, whose plan had failed in some ways.

"Where is Kagome?" Sasori asked.

"Kagome is still asleep she said she will kill anyone who wakes her up." Tobi sang.

I purred in amusement at his words. Sasori noticed me first.

"What is that?" he asked.

Everyone looked up at me.

"It's a cat Sasori." Tobi giggled.

"No, I meant, what is it doing here."

"Its name is Chan and it's a girl. Tobi is keeping her for a while." Tobi said.

"Hmm." Pein said.

Tobi looked at him and he shrugged an its-fine-with-me. Then Tobi grabbed his food and skipped off. I jumped up the fridge and lay down on the warm top, while watching everyone. Everyone ignored me but Deidara. When he was finished eating he stood up and walked to the fridge.

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty." He said while reaching up for me.

I let him grab me and pull me into his arms. He scratched my ear and I purred. I liked being a cat. Deidara looked me over and continued to scratch my ear. After a minute I jumped from his arms and sauntered to Kisame. I jumped to his lap and sat there. He looked surprised but then scratched me gently as he ate. Deidara pouted softly and scowled at me. I gave him a cat grin. When Tobi returned I abandoned Kisame and jumped to his shoulder where I curled around his neck. Tobi started to clean and I would whisper into his ear every once in a while. After a while the others drifted off. At about noon we heard noise from the front door. Tobi skipped off to see what it was. It turned out to be Kakuzu and Hidan. They had returned and Hidan had a woman thrown over his shoulder and tied up. Kakuzu walked off to report while Hidan walked towards his room. While he did Tobi skipped behind him telling him what had happened in the morning. The woman on Hidan's shoulder fought the whole time. I read her aurora with my miko powers I had kept since I had become a demon and had kept over the years. Her aurora showed murder, blood, and hate. I didn't care that she was going to be sacrificed enough to stop Hidan.

"I'm going with Hidan." I whispered to Tobi as we reached Hidan's door.

Tobi nodded and I jumped off his shoulder. I slipped into Hidan's room as he shut the door. He had a bed, a dresser, and then sacrificial stuff. His whole room was grey except for the blood stains. The woman's eyes widened in horror and she fought harder. I sat on Hidan's dresser and watched. He strapped her to a table and pulled the gag out. I had already noticed the jutsu on the room that muffled all the sound in it. Even if the woman screamed the most a person would hear from outside the door was a muffled yell. Hidan started his ritual as the woman screamed and begged for mercy. After a minute I got bored and cleaned myself while I waited. When Hidan was finally finished he had a shower in his bathroom. I watched as he walked from the bathroom in nothing but a towel. He had thrown his cloak on his bed earlier but ignored it. He turned to the dresser and froze when he saw me. He squinted at me.

"How the fuck did you get in here cat?" He asked.

Then he frowned thoughtfully.

"I think I saw you on Tobi's shoulder. Fucking Tobi. We only fucking try to scare him, and he gets to sleep with the hot new chick."

If I could raise an eyebrow as a cat I would have.

"Kagome is really hot, I wouldn't mind fucking her." Hidan started mumbling to himself.

I twitched. Then I saw Hidan reach for his scythe. Even as a cat I was pretty fast. I dodged his swing and sauntered to the door. I then hissed at an empty corner. As soon as Hidan turned to see what I had hissed at I turned into a snake and slipped under the door. I found Tobi waiting there. He clapped and held out his arm which I slid up. We heard some really faint cursing from Hidan's room. Tobi laughed. I changed back into a cat and sat on Tobi's shoulder again. Tobi said he wanted to show me his room and we walked off. When we reached his room we walked in. It had the same furniture as mine but was a yellow room. Tobi skipped to his nightstand and grabbed a game boy off it. He started to talk about his game and started to play. I watched as he did so. I sat on the bed beside him interested in the thing. I started to relax. We hadn't noticed that Tobi had left the door open or that a menacing shadow crept in.

"BOO, un." Someone yelled.

Tobi dropped his game boy and jumped ten feet away from the bed. I was so startled I lost the grip on my shape and turned human again. I fell off the bed as naked Kagome. I looked at Deidara who was gaping at me. I grabbed the blanket off Tobi's bed and wrapped it around myself.

"What the hell Deidara. Do you know how much that scared me?" I hissed.

Deidara was still gaping at me.

"You were the cat, un." He finally chocked out. "And you just changed back, un."

"Yes. Have a good look?"

"Yes actually." He smirked.

Then he walked closer to me.

"Why don't we ditch Tobi and I can go show you my room. And the bed, un." He said seductively.

I scowled and growled. He still smirked as he slowly stepped closer. I growled another warning and he didn't back off. I glared and transformed into a wolf. I snarled at him and he paled a bit. Tobi chased after me as I chased after Deidara, who ran for his life. He ran into the living room where he jumped up to the book shelf. I snarled and snapped at him. Kisame, Kakuzu, Pein, Konan, and Sasori were starring wide eyed from the couches as I tried to reach Deidara. Tobi came running in a second later.

"Please leave Deidara alone." He said to me.

"A new pet Tobi? What happened to the cat?" Pein asked.

"That's not a new pet and neither was the cat, un." Deidara choked out.

I snarled even more dangerously. Deidara shut up.

"Please help Sasori, un." He said.

Sasori glanced at me and him.

"Why?"

"Because I need help. She'll kill me, un." Deidara said.

I growled once again and then slowly stopped. After a few seconds I just huffed and walked to the couch. I sat down beside Tobi and watched Deidara who wasn't moving.

"Tobi dares Deidara to come down." Tobi giggled.

"I don't have a death wish, un." Deidara said.

"Chan can always get up there." Tobi said.

Deidara paled more and looked at me. I grinned. He gulped. Suddenly Hidan walked in. He blinked at me.

"What happened to the fucking cat? It vanished from my room."

Everyone looked at him.

"It was there one minute then it was gone."

They looked at him a moment then Pein turned to Tobi.

"Where do you keep getting these pets?" He asked.

"They aren't Tobi's pets and there is only one." Tobi sang.

They starred at him a moment except Deidara who glanced at me. He didn't say anything though.

"What?" Konan asked finally.

"There is only one."

"But there was a cat and now the wolf." Kisame said.

"They are the same one, un."

Everyone looked to Deidara.

"What the fuck are you doing up there?" Hidan asked.

"Wolf, un." Was all Deidara said.

"Why is it after you anyways?" Kisame asked.

"Saw something I shouldn't have... I might have said done and something I shouldn't either, un."

Deidara grinned again. I growled and advanced. Deidara shut up.

"It's just a plain wolf can't you blow it up?" Hidan asked.

"It's not just a plain wolf, un. It's Kagome."

Everyone gaped then looked at me. I chuckled. They all shivered.

"Yes it's me." I said.

They all gaped.

"Remember I said I was a shape shifter."

They all gaped another minute.

"Then what did Deidara see that he shouldn't have?" Kisame asked.

"He scared me right out of my form. And I wasn't wearing any clothes."

Hidan grinned with Deidara. I growled at him.

"And I was the cat too."

Now Hidan paled and scrambled up the shelf. Deidara and the others looked at him.

"What did you do to the cat?" Pein asked.

"Said something I shouldn't have." Hidan grumbled.

"And tried to slice me up." I snorted.

Then I grinned at them.

"You know you aren't safe up there."

They paled even more. I turned into a hawk and shot up. They jumped off the shelf. I dived back to the floor and changed into a jaguar before I hit the ground. I growled. They paled even more. They looked at one another and split. I chuckled. I looked at the others who were watching. Then I shot after Deidara. I quickly gained on him. He saw me and paled completely. He ran past a door and I saw a short cut. I raced down a second hall and turned. Deidara popped out of a door in front of me. I leaped with a growl. He let out a cry as I landed on his back slamming him to the ground. He gasped. I jumped back. He tried to roll away but I changed into a large basilisk and coiled around him. He fought but I had him. I squeezed hard effectively knocking him unconscious.

Then I turned into a jaguar again. I dragged him with my teeth to my room. I rushed to my dresser and grabbed some wire before retuning to Deidara. I looked around once then dragged him to the living room. Everyone watched as I changed into a small snow monkey –smart and adorable- and wrapped wire around him. Then I tied him to one of the chairs. I turned into a large panther and sniffed around. As soon as I had Hidan's scent I shot off. I swiftly but silently ran across the ground. I soon saw Hidan ahead of me. He looked to be trying to find somewhere to hide. He saw me and dashed for the closest room. I lunged at him. I swiped a paw at him knocking him from his feet. He twisted and landed hard on his back. I slowly walked to him as he tried to inch back. Suddenly a door opened and Itachi stepped out. He looked at Hidan then to me.

"Where did the panther come from?" He asked.

"It's me." I said.

He blinked and his eyes widened slightly. Hidan took this opportunity to jump up and try to run. I leapt at him knocking him from his feet. I pinned him beneath me. Then I pushed the pressure point on his neck with one of my paws. He sagged and I purred. I turned back to Itachi who was watching. We looked at one another then he turned back to his room and I grabbed Hidan's cloak in my teeth. I took him back to the living room also ting him up.

"What are you going to do when they gain consciousness?" Pein asked.

"Haven't decided yet but it was fun hunting them."

Then I quickly ducked from the room. I returned to my room and changed human again. I dressed quickly and walked back to the living room. The others were still watching, except Pein who had left. The two in the chairs were slowly starting to stir. When they were wide awake they blinked and tried to move. I grinned.

"Now what should I do with you two?" I purred.

They each gulped and tried to shrink back.

"Don't hurt them to badly we do need them." Pein said from the doorway.

I nodded. I looked at the two and thought a minute. Then I grinned. The two paled. I walked up to Hidan slowly. He looked at me. I made my face into one of seduction. He seemed a bit shocked. I slid onto his laps and straddled his hips. I wrapped one arm around his neck and rested a hand on his chest, leaning in close. He had a small grin on his lips now.

"You threaten me again and I will personally torture you. I can put you through so much pain it is unimaginable." I said dangerously.

I was quiet so no one else could hear either. Hidan blinked.

"One way of torture is to cut off one certain piece of your autonomy."

I dragged my one finger nail down his chest slowly down. The father I got the paler he went. By the time I had reached his stomach he had lost all color in his face. His lips were pinched together and his eyes were wide. I grinned and slipped off him. The others had been watching very closely. I stepped back and grinned. They all looked at the pale Hidan. Then I moved to Deidara. Instead of straddling his hips a sat on his lap and rested both hands on his chest. I leaned in close putting my mouth near his ear.

"Deidara I am warning you know. If you are too forward you may loose something."

He also paled. I jumped up and stretched. Then I turned to the others with a grin.

"Don't let them go at least until dinner."

The two didn't complain as they mulled over my threats. The others nodded. Then I saw Pein motion me over. I walked over to him. He started to walk off. I followed. He walked down the halls to Itachi's door. He knocked. When he heard a reply we both walked in. Itachi had been reading a book on his bed. He looked up and scowled slightly.

"I have a mission for you two." Pein said.

We both looked at him.

"You will be going to get Uchiha Sasuke."

We both blinked.

"What?" I asked.

"You will be going to get Uchiha Sasuke from Orochimaru. He is too strong to have as an enemy. You will offer him the chance to join us or die. You will leave immediately. Understood?" He asked.

We nodded.

"Now you two need to come to an agreement. I will wait out the door till you do."

Then he walked out and slammed the door. I scowled at it. Then I turned to Itachi. He was watching me. I clenched my hands and looked him straight in the eye standing up tall.

"I am sorry. We need to come to terms because we will be here together for a while. We'll pretend that nothing happened before. We will be regular partners." I said.

Itachi blinked.

"I will not accept that apology and I will not forgive you. As far as I'm concerned now we never met before."

Then he stood. He walked up to me stopping a foot away. He looked into my eyes.

"We will act as partners but no more." He said.

I scowled up at him.

"Agreed. I will try to apologize under better circumstances later when I am under better control and when we have more time." I said.

Then I turned and walked to the door. I heard him start to pack some things for the journey. When I closed the door behind me Pein looked at me from across the hall.

"So…?" He asked.

"We will act as partners but no more." I said.

Then I walked to my room. I shut my door behind me. I grabbed one change of clothes and wrapped it up in a bundle with two scrolls. They I also took my clothes off and tied them in the bundle with my weapons. I tied the bundle to my naked back and changed to a large arctic wolf. I walked to the door I had left slightly open. I walked out and pushed the door shut. Itachi was waiting. He glanced at me and walked off. I followed in silence. We walked out of the base and into the sun. I smiled and looked up at the clear sky. I saw Itachi start to walk for the trees. I waited a second before following. As soon as he reached the trees he jumped up into them and took off at a fast pace. I just ran under him jumping logs, dodging bushes, and ducking under branches. We ran like this in silence until dusk.

When the sun finally set we stopped by a stream in a tiny clearing. Itachi just sat down under a tree and closed his eyes. He seemed to sleep but I knew he was alert. I had seen him eat a soldier pill earlier so I knew he had some. I was glad we didn't have to take time to eat. I myself being a demon didn't need to eat as often as a human and since I was immortal I wouldn't die of hunger at all. I sighed and curled up staying in my wolf form. I watched Itachi lazily for a while. I wanted to apologize and tell him I loved him but I couldn't. I could apologize but I had to make it seem like I didn't care for him anymore. I had already shown too much. But besides that I couldn't love. I would not make myself experience that pain again. I shook the thoughts off and turned to our mission.

I hadn't known that Sasuke had joined Orochimaru. I had met Orochimaru a few times and didn't mind him, but I never thought Sasuke would join him. I had heard rumours of a red eyed ninja who stayed with Orochimaru but there were other ninja clans then the Uchihas that had red eyes. I sighed slightly. When I had heard that Itachi had killed his clan the day I left, I had been worried that it was because of me but I doubted that now. I had been relieved to learn that Sasuke had been spared though. I had known the two brothers had had strong sibling love for one another. Even though Itachi had lost his heart he still remembered the feeling he had for Sasuke. Sasuke was the younger child he needed to protect, the one he thought needed him. It was true. Sasuke had always looked up to his brother. They had been as close as brothers had come. I smiled slightly. Itachi had grown away from his family but he had always liked Sasuke. That was probably what saved Sasuke from the fate of his family. I knew that Sasuke would have changed drastically since his brother had killed the Uchiha clan but I hoped there was still some of the old Sasuke in him. I sighed again. Then I closed my eyes and slowly fell into a light sleep.

.--.

I woke as the first ray of light hit me. I lifted my head and yawned. I stood on all four and stretched. Then I trotted to the stream. I took a long refreshing drink and then looked to Itachi. He was awake and standing now. I saw him glance away from me as I looked at him. I just ignored it. I waited as he grabbed some water and ate a soldier pill. I frowned slightly then changed my form. Itachi looked over as I changed into a cougar. Then he stood still watching me. My bundle was still tied to my back. I shook to make sure the string was still tight then I followed Itachi as he leapt into the trees. We both jumped from branch to branch. We did this all day with the occasional brake. When night fell again we stopped in another clearing.

.--.

The next day was pretty much the same as the first two. We stayed silent the whole time. I listened to the animals as they talked. One thing with shape shifting was I immediately learned the tongues of all animals. I listened to the birds mostly since they traveled the most. It seemed that they had been staying away from a certain part of the forest were snakes stayed close by. I just listened. That night when we stopped I changed into a panther and curled up again.

.--.

It was now the fourth day. Itachi and I both woke at the first rays of light. Itachi quickly ate. He kept glancing at me as he drank too.

"Do you not need to eat?" He finally asked.

I looked up at him.

"Demons do not need to eat as often as humans and I will not die no matter how long I am starved."

He kept quite after that and didn't look at me any more. We took off again. The farther we traveled the fewer animals we came across. A little after noon I stopped Itachi. We dropped from the branches and I slipped behind a tree. I changed back to a human and slipped my clothes on and braided my hair. Then I walked back to Itachi. He looked at me a moment then we continued on our way. After about half an hour we slowed again as we sensed three presences ahead of us. We soon reached a clearing and dropped to the ground. I saw Orochimaru standing with a grin as if waiting for us. On his right was a kid with silver hair and glasses, Kabuto. Then to his left stood a tall eighteen year old boy with black hair and red eyes. It was Sasuke. I hadn't seen him in ten years but I recognized him immediately. He didn't seem to notice me as he glared at Itachi. Murder radiated off of him. I felt a tinge of sorrow fill me. He really hated his brother. We stood examining one another a moment.

"It seems Akatsuki is interested in us. I see they even sent Itachi and a young lady I do not know." Orochimaru laughed.

"Oh but Orochimaru you do know me." I grinned.

Kabuto frowned and pushed his glasses up, Sasuke still glared at Itachi, and Orochimaru and Itachi looked at me blankly.

"Do I now?" Orochimaru said.

"Don't tell me you forgot me Oro-kun."

He scowled.

"The only one who ever called me that was a young woman named Kagome. But she would be at least three times as old as you." He said.

"But Oro-kun I do not age." I said. "And I am the Kagome you know. I remember when I first met you. You Tsunade and Jiraya were all on a team and I had just joined the village. You three were my first friends. Don't tell me you forgot me."

He blinked. Then he looked blank.

"You are immortal." He said.

I grinned.

"You have been trying to become immortal for years but it seems you haven't succeeded." I said.

"How did you become immortal?"

"I became immortal because of a wish. It was the side affect. And I have been immortal for five hundred years."

"You can't be human."

"On the contrary I'm a demon."

They all turned to me again except Itachi.

"We can discuss this later. First what are you doing with Akatsuki? When I first met you, you seemed incapable of evil." He said.

"I joined because I had nothing better to do. And I would have said the same thing about you but here you are leading sound." I said.

He looked at me a minute.

"What are you doing here Kag?" He asked.

Kabuto and Sasuke looked a bit startled at my nickname.

"We are here to get Sasuke."

"To kill him?" Kabuto asked.

I shook my head.

"No to get him to join Akatsuki." I said.

Now they all gaped. Then Sasuke scowled.

"My brother wouldn't let me he would kill me first." He hissed.

"So you are saying you won't come?" I asked.

He remained silent.

"Then we will force you." I said.

Itachi looked at me as I got ready. He stepped back slightly. Orochimaru stepped forwards and both Sasuke and Kabuto back up. Orochimaru smiled at me, a real smile.

"I have wanted to spar with you since we met but you would never agree to." He said.

I nodded. Then I grinned.

"I think I'll fight with my demon powers."

Orochimaru just blinked. I turned onto a raven and shot from my clothes. They all gaped at me except Itachi. Then I dropped to the ground as a black wolf. Orochimaru scowled and shot at me. I jumped back and lunged in my jaws snapping. He jumped back and I changed into a tiger swiping with my claws. My claws tore the front part of his shirt a bit. He scowled slightly. Then he shot forwards again. I changed into eagle soaring into the sky. I saw Sasuke lunge for Itachi. I dived down and transformed into a panther. Sasuke stopped and Itachi went for Orochimaru. Kabuto went to help his master. Sasuke also moved to go after him but I growled. He looked at me.

"I have no quarrel with you onna."

"But you do Sasuke." I said. "How could you join him? I thought you were smarter then that."

I turned into a snake and slithered into my clothes before turning human again as Sasuke blinked at my words. He looked at me as if trying to remember me.

Sasuke's POV:

'She looks familiar. But I can't seem to remember….' I thought. She stood waiting patiently. After a minute she sighed slightly. Then she blinked at me. She walked up to me. I let her. I trusted her, I didn't know why but I did. She licked a finger and scrubbed my cheek.

"Do you always get dirt on you?"

I blinked then gaped.

_..--._

_Kagome kneeled beside me and licked her finger. She rubbed my cheek as I blushed slightly at the close contact._

"_Do you always get dirt on you?" She asked sighing slightly. _

"_I was just training." I said._

_I tried to pull away but she wrapped an arm around me and pulled me onto her lap. We were currently outside on the grass. I blushed and sat still on her lap. She wrapped both arms around me and held me as if I needed comforting. She looked up at the stars in the dark sky and I did too._

"_Kagome …" I started._

"_Yes Sasuke?" I asked._

"_Does brother hate me?"_

"_What would make you think that?" She asked looking down at me._

"_Well he never trains me and he ignores me."_

"_You know what Sasuke?"_

"_What?"_

"_Your brother loves you more then anyone else."_

"_Even more then you?"_

_Kagome blushed and smiled._

"_Yes, even more then me. He doesn't train you because he wants you to learn to do it on your own and he is to busy training himself so he can protect you."_

"_But he ignores me."_

"_He is just usually tired and he doesn't ignore you. I have seen him watching you train from the shadows, and he is always close by you at home. You are his little brother and he loves you."_

"_But he doesn't seem to like anyone but you."_

"_He loves me and you, but he doesn't love everyone else that much."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because they always ask hard things of him and because they expect too much. Never grow up to be like that. Just let people do as much as they can and never expect more."_

"_Okay Kagome."_

"_Now promise me you will do that, and promise me you will always love your brother even if he does something bad or wrong."_

"_I promise."_

_I hooked my pinkie on to hers and promise._

_.--._

"_Brother!" I yelled as Itachi walked into the kitchen. _

_I wrapped my arms around his leg and let a sob go._

"_Kagome is gone! Her stuff is gone too. Mother said she left last night. I thought she loved us though." I sobbed._

_Itachi looked down at me. His eyes looked harder and empty._

"_She loved you Sasuke don't worry. You were always her friend and always will be."_

_I noticed he didn't say she loved him._

"_She loved you too brother."_

_He looked back down at me._

"_She told me so."_

_He starred a moment. Then I saw what time it was. I wiped my nose and ran to grab my bag. I said goodbye to my mother. Then I headed out the door towards the academy. That was the last time I saw the lights on in my house, the last time I saw Itachi without blood or an Akatsuki cloak on, the last time I saw my mother with her head, the last time I felt comfort or happiness._

_. OF FLASHBACK.--._

I looked at Kagome and felt a tear run down my face.

"Kagome." I whispered.

She looked at me and smiled.

"Remember Sasuke?"

"You told me Itachi loved me."

She got a sad look.

"We will speak later."

Then I felt a poke on my neck. She smiled one last time as I fell into darkness.

Kagome's POV:

I picked up Sasuke's limp body and grabbed my bundle. I tied it back on my back and signalled to Itachi who had been fighting Kabuto and Orochimaru, or at least keeping them busy. He jumped back to me and rested a hand on my shoulder before using the teleportation jutsu. The last thing I saw was Orochimaru looking pissed and Kabuto scowling before we were a day's travel away. Itachi and I immediately took off heading back for the base. I noticed Itachi glanced at Sasuke every few seconds. I didn't see hate in his eyes. I smiled to my self and let my miko powers slip into the boy to make sure he stayed unconscious till we made it back to the base. We ran for the day and when we stopped for the night a laid Sasuke down beside me.

.--.

We ran all the next day and I carried Sasuke. Itachi never offered and I didn't suggest. When night fell we once again rested.

.--.

The next day we ran on once again. I added more miko powers in the boy and he stayed asleep. Itachi didn't ask why he stayed asleep so long he just watched him once in a while. A little after dinner we arrived at the base. We walked in staying a distance apart. Pein greeted us at the door and looked at Sasuke.

"So you got him. Did he agree to join?"

"Let me speak to him." I said.

Pein slowly nodded.

"Put him in the room across from you."

I nodded Itachi left me and headed for the kitchen. I knew he wanted real food not soldier pills. I walked down the hall to the empty room. I opened the door and walked to the bed. I set Sasuke down gently ad pulled the blankets up. My miko powers would fade from him in the morning and he would wake up. I shut the door and headed to my room. I threw my bundle onto the bed and walked out towards the kitchen. I had passed Itachi on my way and was alone. I grabbed some leftovers and walked to the living room. Luckily almost all the members except Konan, Pein, and Itachi were there. I ate in the door way. When I was finished I set my dishes aside and cleared my throat. They all looked up at me.

"Where the fuck where you two? You were gone for over a fucking week." Hidan said.

"Pein told us it was a mission, un."

I looked at them making sure I had there attention. Hidan and Deidara watched me but scooted away from me. Sasori looked up from his book and Kakuzu also looked up from a book. Kisame and Tobi paused the TV and Zetsu stopped watering his plant to listen.

"We were sent to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke."

There was dead silence.

"He will be joining us after I talk to him. He is in the room across from mine. Bother him and I will torture you to the verge of death."

I said the last past dangerously. Everyone nodded but still looked surprised or thoughtful.

"Another fucking Uchiha? How many Fucking Uchiha's do we have to put up with?" Hidan asked.

Then he looked around to see if Itachi had over heard. I shot him a scowl. Then I turned and walked to my room. I wanted to get some good sleep on a soft bed. Before I entered my room, though, I set a barrier around Sasuke's door. Then I walked into my room had a quick shower and jumped into bed. I sighed happily as I drifted off to sleep.

Sasuke's POV:

I slowly opened my eyes and looked up. I blinked at the ceiling. I sat straight up as my memory returned. I scowled slightly. It felt like I had been asleep for days. I looked around slowly. I was in a medium sized room. It was a light red. The bed had burgundy covers and there was a nightstand, a dresser, desk, and shelf. I saw two doors. I guessed one led to a bathroom and one led to a hall. I was currently on the large burgundy bed. The room was…nice. I didn't think Akatsuki's base would be this nice. At least I thought I was in Akatsuki's base. My head whipped up as the door opened. A red headed man with a bored looking expression walked in. He wore all black clothes, no uniform, and no cloak. He had a tray of food in his hand. He shut the door behind him and gave me a thoughtful look. I remembered that his name was Sasori. He was a puppet master. At least that was what Orochimaru had told me. He walked to the nightstand and set the food down. I watched him closely and stayed alert. I kept my face blank and studied him. He didn't strike me as human. He straightened and headed for the door.

"Kagome told me to bring that breakfast for you. She said eat that, have a shower, change into the clothes she left you then come find her. Don't worry no one will attack you." He sighed.

"Where is Kagome?" I asked.

"Last I saw, she was making breakfast and chasing Deidara with a wooden spoon."

Then he was gone. I could picture Kagome with a wooden spoon, but chasing an Akatsuki member with one? I saw a pair of clothes and looked at the food. I studied it a moment. I was really hungry. I slowly reached for it. There were eggs, bacon, and toast. I took some toast and took a bite. I made myself eat slowly. When that was done I walked to the other door and looked into a light red bathroom. I had a quick shower and changed into the clothes. The clothes were black shorts, and a black t-shirt. I then walked to the door. I looked out cautiously. I walked out and shut my door looking around. I heard some voices and walked towards them. I reached a corner and suddenly someone ran into me. I fell back on my butt. My guard immediately flared. Then I saw a man in black clothes with black spiky hair. He was lying on the ground from where he had hit me and fallen. He had an orange swirl mask. He looked up at me.

"Oh Hello! My name is Tobi! Tobi is a good boy!"

I just sat watching him. I slowly started to get up. He wasn't normal that was for sure. He jumped up and proceeded to skip around me like a child.

"Are you Sasuke? You look like Itachi! He scares me sometimes!"

'Well duh.' I thought.

"TOBI, un!" Someone yelled.

Suddenly a man shot out around the corner. He had long blonde hair. Some was held in a pony tail and some hung over his face. I knew this one as Deidara. He looked mad and he was dripping wet.

"Oh Deidara-! Did you trip Tobi's trap?" The mask man giggled. "You're all wet!"

"YOU ARE SO DEAD, un." The blonde yelled.

Tobi squeaked and jumped behind me. Deidara lunged for him but hadn't seen me and as Tobi moved he tackled me. He jumped back and I sat up already ticked off.

"Oh uh… sorry I-Itachi I was just, un… trying to get Tobi, un." The blonde said backing away.

I guessed Itachi was more fearsome then I thought. I stood up.

"This isn't Itachi, Deidara. It's his brother Sasuke."

The blonde blinked.

"Oh. Sorry uh… Sasuke."

I snorted mentally. He reminded me of Naruto but he looked like Ino. I looked at him a moment.

"Nh." I said.

"Please don't say that." Deidara winced. "Itachi says that all the time and it drives me crazy, un."

"Why do you say 'un' at the end of everything?"

"Oh My God! He speaks! You aren't like Itachi at all, un!"

I almost snorted in amusement.

"Answer the question." I said.

"Oh,! Well it's a habit, un." He said.

I saw Tobi run away out of the corner of my eye.

"Hey come back here, un!" Deidara yelled.

"But Tobi is a good boy!" The guy yelled.

The two were out of sight in a second. I blinked then continued towards the other voices. I entered a living room. I saw a shark in front of a TV, a masked man reading a book, Sasori reading, a plant talking a blue haired woman, and an orange haired man covered in piercings flipping through some papers. I didn't see Itachi but I didn't expect too. Suddenly Kagome walked in from an opposite door. A silver haired man followed her. She looked at me and smiled. Everyone followed the line of her smile and looked at me. There was silence a moment. Then the flip of a page broke it. I realized Sasori was still reading. Suddenly the man with the piercings stood.

"Hello Sasuke. My name is Pein. I'm the leader of Akatsuki."

I looked at the man a moment.

"Nh."

"Exactly the response I expected from Itachi's brother."

The blue haired woman stood and stepped beside Pein.

"This is my second in command Konan."

She looked at me blankly.

"And I think I heard you meet Deidara and Tobi."

"Nh."

"You met Sasori, he is Deidara's partner, and you seem to know Kagome."

I nodded.

"Then there is Kakuzu here and his partner Hidan."

He pointed to the masked man then the silver haired man. I saw the silver haired man scowl at me.

"Another Fucking Uchiha. What the fuck is with you asking him to join? We already have a fucking Uchiha and he is fucking annoying by himself."

I decided this man swore a lot. I still glared at him, though. He flinched slightly.

"And this is Zetsu. He is Tobi's partner. He is bipolar."

"Hello." Said a cheerful voice from the plant.

"I agree with Hidan about annoying Uchihas." He said a second later in a dark voice.

I studied him a moment.

"And here is Kisame. He is Itachi's partner."

"Hey kid. Like sake?" The shark asked.

I looked over at him. He seemed cheerful for a guy who was bossed around by a man younger then him and by a man feared by most of the ninja world.

"Nh."

"Now I believe Kagome here wanted to talk to you about joining."

I nodded. Kagome also nodded. Then Kagome walked over to me and grabbed my arm gently walking me away back the direction I had come from. As we walked to the room I heard Deidara. A second later the two flew around the corner again. Tobi stopped so fast he fell down on his butt. Then Deidara hit him, tripping, and flying at Kagome. Soon they were lying on the ground. Deidara was on top of Kagome and his face was in her breast.

"You know Kagome I could get used to this, un." He said.

I saw Kagome twitch. I glared at the man. He was to close to Kagome for my taste. I walked over and grabbed his collar. I hauled him to his feet. As soon as he stood he tried to run but I held him. Kagome got to her feet and cracked her knuckles.

"Deidara…"

The man cringed.

"I have to talk to Sasuke now but we will settle this later."

I let the man go and he shot off. Tobi stayed sitting on the floor and started to hum. I glanced at him. There was definitely something wrong with him. Kagome sighed and smiled at me. I followed her down the hall. When we reached the room I had stayed in we walked into the room across from it. It was a large deep green room and I guessed it was Kagome's. She motioned for me to sit on the bed. I did and she sat across from me on a desk chair.

"Now Sasuke will you join Akatsuki?"

I looked at her.

"If you don't we will have to kill you and I really don't want too."

We sat in silence a minute.

"If you stay you will most likely be my partner. You would have the room you were in this morning."

"Can you tell me about the others?" I asked.

"Sasori is a puppet master. He is usually always bored looking and won't bother you if you don't bother him. Deidara his partner is a bomb master and he is obnoxious but usually cheerful. He will bother you relentlessly and it is best to ignore him. Kakuzu is a medic of sorts and is hung up on money. Ignore him and he will ignore you most of the time. His partner Hidan is a religious freak that swears a lot. Be careful of him because he has a short temper and would kill you even if Pein says not to. Tobi as you saw has the mind of a six year old but he is strong. He is very obnoxious, speaks in third person, he's too chipper, and he will not stop bothering anyone. Zetsu is his partner and he as you saw is almost a plant. He is bipolar and he is a cannibal. Stay away from him for a while at least. He is also Akatsuki's spy. Pein is the leader he is nice but is really strong and even Itachi obeys him without question. Konan is strong too and she is his partner in a sense. She is usually blank but don't annoy her. Also Pein and her have a thing going so don't try anything. Then finally there is Itachi and Kisame. Kisame is usually cheerful but not as easy to push around as some of the others. He loves sake. Itachi is quiet but polite and rarely hangs out with everyone."

I nodded as I memorized all this.

"Now if you join you will have to promise not to try to kill Itachi."

"I will promise if you explain to me. You told me he loved me a long ago but then he killed everyone and told me to hate him"

Kagome sighed.

"Your brother did love you. That is why he spared you. He told you to hate him because loving him would hurt you and it would make it harder to fight him if you ever needed too."

I looked at her and heard some of the truth in her words. It still didn't banish all thoughts of revenge from my mind but it did lock them away for now. Then Kagome stood.

"You must swear not to try and kill Itachi while here and to stay with Akatsuki."

"I swear to stay and try not to kill Itachi."

She smiled slightly.

"Well now that's out of the way, let's go do something. I have some poor blonde boy to beat into a pulp or at least threaten. And I can give you a tour."

I felt a smile play on my lips. I also stood and followed Kagome out the door. She walked me down the hall showing me all the rooms and such. When we entered the living room everyone was pretty much there doing something. Kagome walked to a book shelf and grabbed a book. Then she sat on a couch beside Kisame. She started to read. I stood and leaned against the wall watching the other members, what they were doing, how they got along, and what they were like. After about half an hour Kagome stood and stretched. She walked to the kitchen and I followed. I watched as she started to make lunch. From what I remembered she liked to cook. I watched. When she was close to finished the others wandered in and started to talk. I watched them. They all seemed to get along with one another and weren't always at the


	6. Half Angel : Naruto

I blinked and lifted my head. It swam with the pain. I groaned. I was lying on my stomach in the dirt. My one arm laid by my side and the other was outstretched. My fingers dug into the dirt as I felt my body stiffen. My body had gone numb but feeling was slowly returning. I whimpered as the pain hit me. I had blood covering me. My muscles all screamed and my head was pounding.

"Why did they betray me?" I sobbed into the ground.

'**They betrayed you because you are weak and because they hate you.' ** The voice in my head chuckled. It was inner Sakura.

"I don't believe that." I whispered. "Naruto didn't hate me. Neither did Lee, or Tenten or Hinata, no one hated me."

**'Oh but they did hate you. They just acted like they didn't so they could catch you, lure you.' **Inner Sakura laughed.

"No." I said.

**'Yes. Hate them, hate Sasuke, be angry, let the anger and hate loose, kill them.'** She whispered to me.

"No. Hate will change me. I'll become dark, evil." I said.

'**So? They think you are evil, show them how evil you can be.' **

"No. I won't."

I stopped on the branch. I looked down in the clearing. A girl lay on the ground. She was covered in blood and seemed to be injured. I scowled softly as I saw her lips moving, as I saw her talking to herself. She somehow pulled herself to her knees. 'I might as well kill her. She won't last long like this.' I thought. I dropped from the tree and straightened. The girls head wiped up and she looked at me and I saw deep emerald eyes. She also had pink hair that fell to the middle of her back. She could easily be described as angelic. She looked at me a moment then stumbled to her feet. I was a bit surprised she could stand with all the blood she had lost. Her breathing was ragged and she slowly backed up.

"You won't live much longer." I said.

"Yes I will." She said.

I starred as her wounds started to slowly close up and heal. With in five minutes all her wounds had healed. She was still almost drained of chakara though.

"A kekkai genkai?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"There is no kekkai genkai like this that I know of." She said.

I watched her a moment. I advanced a step and she stepped farther back. Soon her back hit a tree.

"Don't come any closer." She said.

I took an extra step. We were about five feet away.

"I have no choice." She whispered.

I frowned. Suddenly pink and white light started to swirl around her. I watched with wide eyes as two large white wings slowly grew from her back. The light moved from swirling to grow the wings. I knew wings the wings were being made of the light that surrounded her. When the light stopped swirling she had two large, feathery white wings on her back. She watched me as she took a step forwards.

"What are you?" I asked.

"I'm half angel."

I opened my mouth and then shut it quickly.

"My mother was an angel and my father was human. They had me." She explained.

"You are a pure angel." I said.

"How do you know?" She asked.

I noticed she was slowly shifting into an offensive position.

"I studied about history and angels when I was younger. They were said to be extinct." I breathed.

She shook her head.

"I'm the last that I know of."

"Why are you injured?" I asked.

"My friends turned on me. Sasuke told them I was a dark angel. He is higher rank then them so when he told them to kill me they obeyed. I used the last of my chakara to escape."

I scowled.

"He was jealous of your power?" I asked.

She nodded. I smirked.

"Come with me then. You won't be wanted back there. Join Akatsuki."

She looked at me.

"I will come with you."

I smirked again.

"But I will not become a dark angel."

"You do not hate?"

She shook her head.

"I want to hate them but if I do I will become tainted, a dark angel."

I nodded. Dark angles controlled shadows and the dark energy and were a bit stronger then pure angels who controlled light, but evil. I held out a hand for her. She looked at it then slowly extended her own hand. I grasped it in my bigger one and looked at her a moment. She had very soft skin and a beautiful body. Her wings were beautiful too. I pulled her into my chest as I put my now free hands together and did the signs for the transportation jutsu. We fell into darkness a moment. Then we appeared in a clearing beside a large house. The angel blinked.

"What is your name?" I asked.

"Sakura."

"Ah, the girl who was partners with my brother."

She nodded. I saw that she was still tired and almost drained.

"It may be best to hide your wings."

She nodded and as I blinked the vanished.

"I just bent the light around them so no one can see them." She said.

I nodded and held out my hand again. She took it gently and I helped her into the base. As we walked slowly down the halls I could sense the other members in the kitchen, the living room, or their rooms. We walked to Leader's room without even meeting any other members. I knocked softly on the door and waited till I heard a reply before I opened the door and stepped in. Pein, who was behind his desk doing paper work looked up and blinked at Sakura.

"Yes Itachi?" He asked.

"This is Sakura, She wishes to join."

Pein looked her over.

"She seems like an ordinary weak kunoichi."

"She isn't ordinary, she's half angel."

Pein's eyes sharpened and he looked closer at Sakura. I looked down at her and she sighed. Her wings reappeared and Pein starred. Pein stood and walked over to us.

"May I?" He asked looking at the wings.

Sakura nodded and he reached out touching them. He fingered the feathers then stroked them. Sakura shifted her weight and the wing moved a bit. Pein took a step back.

"I will think about letting her join, but first I need to see her fighting skills. She seems tired. Let her rest till she is fully better then we will test her."

"Where will she stay?" I asked.

"Your room."

I stiffened but nodded. Sakura hid her wings again and I walked out the hall. We walked down the hall till we reach my door. I opened it to show my crimson room with black furniture. I stepped in and shut the door behind her. I pointed to the door leading to the bathroom.

"Wash the blood and dirt off first."

She nodded and walked to the room. When the door shut and I could hear the water running I walked to my drawers. I pulled out my smallest black pants and smallest black t-shirt. Then I dropped them inside the bathroom where Sakura would notice them. I finally sat down on my bed and waited. Sakura only took about ten minutes before the door opened. Sakura walked out in an oversized t-shirt, and pants that had the legs folded up. I snorted. She scowled slightly but sighed. I stood and motioned to the bed. She nodded then suddenly her wings reappeared. Her wings slowly disintegrated into small particles of light which faded away.

She blinked and then her eyes fell shut and she crumpled. I caught her before she hit the ground. I knew she had collapsed out of exhaustion. I sighed and lifted her, carrying her to the bed. I gently put her down and pulled the blankets up. I was glad she had made her wings go back into her again because she would have take up the whole bed if she had kept them out. I sighed and turned to the door. It was only noon, I wasn't about to stay in my room all day.

I felt the soft bed under me. I buried my face in deeper and curled up. I blinked slowly and opened my eyes. I remembered falling asleep after I had turned my wings back into light. I realized I was in Itachi's bed. I almost laughed. Who would have thought that Sasuke would try to kill me, and that his older brother would save me? I sighed softly. I wondered how long I had slept for. I felt much better. I felt down as I thought of my friends.

We had been sent on a mission as after we had completed it Sasuke had turned to me. He had told them I was a dark angel and I was plotting to bring the down fall of Kohona. I don't know how he found out I was an angel though. Well my friends had gasped and been in disbelief. But I couldn't lie and when they asked if I was an angel I had to say yes. They had jumped to conclusions thinking I was dark, they had attacked before I could prove I was innocent. Sasuke had grinned at me and watched in amusement as my friends tried to kill me.

I clenched my eyes shut at the thought. I finally tried to sit up. I only now noticed the arm looped over my waist. My breath caught as I recognized it as Itachi's. No matter how nice he had been earlier that didn't mean I wasn't scared of him or that I trusted him. I slowly slid forwards but just as I was almost free the arm tightened and pulled me back to Itachi.

"Where are you going little angel?" He asked.

"I was just getting up." I said quietly.

"Hn."

He didn't let go though. I turned my head around and saw him watching me. I started to feel nervous. He slowly let me go and I slid away from him. I stood up and I saw him do the same. He looked at me as I ran my fingers through my hair pulling out the knots. He watched me a second then motioned for me to follow him. I scurried after him out the door and down the hall.

We walked in silence till we reached a kitchen. We stepped in and I blinked. At the table sat a guy with blonde hair. Half the hair hung over one eye and some was in a pony tail. He looked like Ino's long lost brother. Beside him sat a guy with red hair and a bored look. I gasped at Sasori. They all looked at me as I gasped. Sasori was immediately standing and glaring at me. His hands were reaching for his weapon pouch as mine did the same.

"Stop." Itachi said.

I did but Sasori still slid his hand to his pouch.

"She is the one teamed up with Chiyo." Sasori said.

"She is the one who almost killed you, un?" The blonde asked looking at me.

"Yes." Sasori said.

"I thought I had killed you." I said softly.

"Almost but you just missed my vital spot."

I blinked and nodded slowly. Itachi was watching me.

"What do you want to eat?" Itachi asked.

"Do you have fruit?" I asked ignoring the other two.

Itachi pointed to a bowl of fruit on the table.

"Why is she here?" Sasori asked.

"She may become a new member."

"But she is an enemy. She seemed very loyal to Kohona when she tried to kill me." Sasori said.

His hand was no longer moving to his weapons and he seemed less tense. He sat down and got a curious look.

"Well they turned on her." Itachi said.

I nodded my head once. Itachi went to the counter and started to make himself some toast. Deidara was watching me closely. I sat down on the opposite side of Deidara and Sasori. I grabbed and apple and looked out the large window that let light in. I saw the sun was just above the horizon. It looked nice outside. I didn't see a cloud in the sky and the birds darted in and out of sight. I started to eat my apple as the two watched me closely.

"You look like an angel, un." Deidara said.

Sasori nodded in agreement.

"She is an angel." Itachi said.

The two blinked and looked confused.

"She is half angel. Her mother was an angel and her father was human."

The blinked then smiled softly.

"Good one, un."

"It's not a joke." Someone said.

We all looked up at Pein who walked into the kitchen.

"Show them your wings Sakura." He said.

I nodded and felt the pink and white light spiral around me as I continued to eat my apple. I felt and saw the light that had started to swirl around me slowly go to my back where my wings started to grow. Angel wings were made of light, except dark angel wings which were made of shadows and the darkness. When all the light surrounding me was gone I felt my wings. They tucked into me and I continued to eat my apple ignoring the stares of Sasori and Deidara.

"Wow, un." Deidara whispered.

Then he jumped up.

"Can I touch them, un?"

I nodded softly. He was beside me in an instant. He slowly extended a hand. I almost sighed happily as his hands pet my wings. My wings were as much of a part of me as my arms and it felt nice when someone stroked them. I shivered slightly as the mouth on his hand almost licked them. He pulled his hand back as soon as his mouth opened though. He grinned apologetically and reached back out stroking my soft feathers. I loved my wings. They were soft and the large feathers were almost fluffy. Deidara started to examine my wings closer. Itachi also set down his toast for a second and come for a closer look. I sighed and spread them out a bit for them to see.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE THE THOSE!?"

We looked to the door to see a silver haired man and a shark.

"They are angel wings, Hidan." Pein said.

"Angel wings?" Kisame asked.

"Yes, Sakura here is an angel, well half angel."

"They don't fucking exsist." Hidan snorted.

"The proof is right here." Itachi said.

Hidan walked up and grabbed a feather. He pulled quickly and the feather was pulled off. I yelped and jumped up glaring at him. I folded my feather and held it in my arms were I stroked the part he had ripped the feather from. He was starring slightly. Kisame had stepped up next to Itachi inspecting my other wing. I stroked the place where Hidan had ripped the feather from. My wings would rarely hurt except for when feathers were pulled out. I could take a sword through my wings and I would barely feel anything but pull a feather out and it was like poking me hard with a sharp object or stabbing me with a knife. When it felt better I let my wing spread out again. Deidara returned to stroking and inspecting it. Hidan starred at the feather in his hand. He set it on the table and started to inspect the wings but didn't touch them.

"An angel?" Someone asked.

We glanced at the half plant man.

"You know about angels, Zetsu?" Sasori asked.

Zetsu nodded.

"I always wondered if they tasted good."

I shivered slightly making my wings shiver too, which made my feathers puff out a bit. Deidara grinned and continued to stroke my wings. No one else stroked them. They just looked at them and fingered them. Suddenly I heard a squeal. Before I could look to see where it had come from I felt someone hugging my one wing, pulling me down a bit. The other members looked at the spiky black haired man with the orange hair and rolled their eyes. He hugged my wing and jumped up and down.

"Um… could you not squeeze so tight?" I asked.

"Okay! Tobi's name is Tobi, what is angel's name?" he asked

"My name is Sakura."

"Tobi likes your wings Sakura!"

"Thank you Tobi."

"Konan and Kakuzu are the only ones who haven't seen these yet, un." Deidara said.

Tobi slowly let go of my wings and started to stroke it like Deidara.

"They're so soft!" Tobi sang.

I nodded and almost purred as the two continued to stroke my feathers. I slowly closed my eyes and sighed in content. I heard a soft chuckle. I opened an eye and looked at Pein who sat across from me.

"That feels good?" He asked.

I smiled and nodded. Deidara grinned and Tobi started to hum.

"What are those?"

We turned and looked at a man in a mask and a woman with blue hair and a paper flower barrette.

"Angel wings!" Tobi laughed.

"Angel wings?" Konan asked.

"Yes. Sakura is half angel." Sasori said.

"And what are Tobi and Deidara doing?" Kakuzu asked.

"We were inspecting her wings but they're so soft you have to pet them, un."

"Besides Sakura likes it." Pein chuckled.

I nodded slightly. Konan walked up and looked at my wings she hesitantly reached out. She poked them with a finger. My feathers almost 'rippled' under her fingers. She smirked slightly and ran a hand down the front of the feathers. I sighed softly again. I couldn't help but smile. Konan glanced at me and did it again. She then moved closer to where my wings came from my back. She dragged a finger down the 'spine' of my feathers or the top of them. When she reached my back she looked at it closely.

"So are they a part of you or just for looks?" Konan asked.

"They are as much of a part of me as my arms. They are very useful in blocking attacks and giving me speed. They even let me fly."

"You can fly?" Pein asked.

I nodded.

"This I have to see." He said.

He stood and I followed his example. I folded my wings so I could move better. I lifted my wings up so the ends didn't drag on the ground either. We all followed Pein out a door I had noticed before. We stepped into the sun and my wings seemed to grow. I smiled. Sunlight made me stronger like darkness made dark angels stronger. I stepped lightly away from the others. When I was far enough away from them I reached my wings out. They spread out to each side and stretched as far as they could. They probably stretched about fifteen feet to each side, thirty feet in all.

They flapped once to warm up. Then I jumped up. My wings immediately snapped tight and grabbed the air. They stroked once and I shot up into the sky. I did three more flaps then turned and almost hovered in place. I looked down at the others and saw them watching. They seemed quite tiny from my view. I saw Tobi waving and waved back. Then I let my wings fold. I dived head first to the ground. About ten feet from the ground my wings snapped open catching the air. I saw Tobi gasped as I flew a circle around the house.

"Tobi wishes he had wings and could fly." The man said sighing dreamily.

I grinned and shot at him. I could swear I heard him squeak as I grabbed his wrists in my hands and shot up pulling him into the air. He started to laugh.

"Wow Tobi is flying!"

I giggled and shot up even higher then before. I let my wings fold again and we dived down hand in hand. He squealed in excitement. Just before I hit the ground I pulled up and let Tobi go. He dropped to the ground easily and started to clap and laugh.

"No fair un!" Deidara yelled.

"You want a turn?" I asked grinning.

He nodded savagely. I saw Leader drag a hand down his face.

"What are you, children? You fly on your bird all the time."

"So, un?"

Pein rolled his eyes. I sped at Deidara as he turned to me. I grabbed his arms and dragged him up into the sky. He grinned up at me. I flew as high as Tobi and let him go.

"HEY, un!" He yelled crossing his arms and pouting.

I dived down beside him and we fell together. I grabbed him and then spun slowing and dropping him. I laughed and touched down myself. Tobi started to skip around me and babble about birds, angels, and flying.

"Well that was quite impressive." Pein said.

I blinked slightly.

"Now can we test your fighting skills?" he asked.

I nodded. Pein looked at Deidara.

"Fight her. Weapons and Taijutsu only. You can use your bombs and she can use her wings."

He nodded. Tobi quieted and they all stepped back as Deidara took an offensive position. **'They change pace quite quickly.' **Inner Sakura said. 'What do you want?' I asked her. **'Nothing, I just came to watch the fight.' **I sighed and took a fighting position. When Pein signalled to begin Deidara whipped out some clay. He started to mould it as I shot in at him.

Sakura lunged at Deidara and our eyes all widened at her speed. She almost wasn't there. She lashed out with her foot. Deidara jumped back but her foot still touched him. He lost his air as he blew back and slammed into a tree.

"She was the Godaime's apprentice. She has the same inhuman strength." Akatsuki's spy, Zetsu said.

I nodded. Deidara leapt back up and took a deep breath of air. Then he threw two bombs at Sakura. They were fast and exploded less then a foot from Sakura. She was faster though and jumped back. She flapped her wings and the smoke cleared. She lunged in again and before Deidara could blink she had nailed him in the side with her foot. He flew to the side and into the tree. He didn't stand for a second as he seemed dazed. Finally he stumbled up and shook his head. He took another breath and whipped more bombs at Sakura. She grinned and flapped her wings blowing the bombs back at Deidara. He dived and rolled out of the way. Sakura vanished to appear behind Deidara. She tapped his neck and he crumpled unconscious.

"She is also a better medic then Tsunade." Zetsu said.

I nodded. Sakura healed Deidara who stood up and blinked looking a bit confused. I motioned him back and sent Kisame forwards. He grinned as I said use jutsus. He kept Samehade on his back as he watched Sakura. Then he started his hand signs. There was a river off to the side slightly in the trees. A large wave of water shot out and went for Sakura. I saw some of the water form sharks. Sakura jumped into the air just avoiding the water. She didn't dodge the snapping jaws of the water sharks though. They pulled her into the water. She took a breath as the water returned to the river pulling her with it.

We waited a second. Then she jumped from the water a minute later. She shook her head and fluffed out her wings. She looked soaked but that was it. She grinned at Kisame and clapped her hands together. She did hand signs to fast to see. Then she took a deep breath and started to spit fire balls at Kisame. His eyes widened as he dodged them. I saw that Itachi looked slightly startled too. I guess he would be since her attack was one that the Uchihas were creators of.

Kisame got his sleeve singed before Sakura ran out of breath. Kisame made more hand signs and a huge water dragon appeared. Sakura copied his hand signs and a second water dragon appeared. Kisame almost gaped. The two dragons crashed and fell back to the water. Sakura lunged at Kisame. He dodged her fists and jumped back. She lunged back. I saw she was pushing him back near the water. As soon as he was close Sakura did more hand signs. A huge sphere of water surrounded Kisame. We all winced. Kisame tried to do hand signs but the water restricted his movement. We saw bubbles come from him. He started to turn a deeper blue and gave the signal that he yielded. Sakura grinned and the water fell and splashed into the river bringing Kisame with it. He surfaced and dragged himself onto the land. He coiffed up some water and looked very much waterlogged. He grinned a bit and returned to us.

I signalled Itachi forwards. He stepped up and I instructed Genjutsu and taijutsu only. The two nodded and stood a bit apart. They just watched each other a moment. Then they both whipped out kuni. Itachi dodged Sakura's and she dodged his. They pulled out more kuni and lunged at one another. I could already see Itachi's mangekyou on. They locked kuni and jumped back. They started to throw weapons at one another. Then they lunged in exchanging blows. Itachi and Sakura seemed to have the same speed. Sakura threw a punch and Itachi caught it. Itachi threw a punch at the same time and Sakura caught it. They stayed locked like that. I heard Sakura curse as she looked into Itachi's eyes.

I smirked as she accidentally looked into my eyes. I immediately sucked her into my red and black world. Sakura was tied to a cross and I looked up at her. She still had wings. She looked at me and cursed. I smirked.

"Well, well, well. Sakura good to see you." Someone chuckled.

We both looked at the speaker. I almost gaped at the woman behind me. She looked exactly like Sakura but she had darker green eyes and black wings. I looked back at Sakura who cringed at the woman. It wasn't possible to have someone else in here.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm inner Sakura."

"A separate personality." I whispered.

"Kind of. I'm Sakura's dark side. Each angel has two sides, dark and light. Most of the time light is in control. But if the light side gets filled with hate or starts to hate someone they start to turn dark. If Sakura turns dark she and I will merge, but dark will conquer light most likely. She will become a dark angel."

The woman/Sakura grinned.

"So you are the Sakura's dark side." I summed up.

She nodded. I looked at Sakura.

"And you have no hate in you, except her."

Good Sakura nodded. I looked at the dark Sakura as she sighed.

"She doesn't even have hate after her friends betrayed her."

I looked at the two. Then I made another cross shoot from the ground. The dark angel was tied to it to. She blinked and then scowled at me.

"Can you two merge and not be evil or good?" I asked.

"No and yes. If we merge we can be just evil or just pure but we wouldn't be neutral. We could also just switch between being good and bad all the time." Evil Sakura said.

"So you always hear her in your head?" I asked Good Sakura.

She nodded.

"So you always have the devil in your head. I'm surprised you haven't done anything yet." I smirked.

"Oh I've tried to get her to do something's but she wouldn't listen. Sometimes she did set up small traps but that was it." Evil Sakura sighed.

Good Sakura scowled at her and Evil Sakura grinned. The two stayed like this till I interrupted. The looked at me, as I cleared my throat.

"Well let's get to why I brought you here."

I pulled out a kuni and walked to Dark Sakura. She seemed to grin as I stabbed a kuni in her chest.

"She revels in pain." Good Sakura said.

I glanced at her and made a clone. The clone walked to Good Sakura and stabbed her too. She barely gasped. She had better pain tolerance then some ninja I had met. I stabbed them again and only got small expels of breath. I continued to stab them for an hour. They started to whimper after a while but Evil Sakura seemed to still like to see herself and good Sakura in pain. She seemed to be sadistic, kind of like me. For twenty four hours I continued to torture them. I didn't just stab them. I had done this so many times I had some very good torturing ways, and many ways to bring extreme pain. By the end they were both screaming with the pain. I decided to cut the session short and ended it after twenty four hours. As we left my world and returned to the outside real world Sakura fell to her knees whimpering in pain still.

"Wow Itachi, you must have gone easier on her, I have seen people come out screaming bloody murder, some come out almost dead, and most come out unconscious, in a coma, or insane." Kisame said.

I glanced at him.

"I did not go easy on her. I cut some of the time off so I only had her for twenty four hours but I tried some new methods of torture."

Kisame gulped and gave me a shaky grin. Sakura still whimpered but dragged herself to her feet. She stumbled back and didn't look at my eyes again. She took deep even breathes. I looked at her wings a moment then I turned and walked back to the others. Pein stepped forwards and motioned Sakura forwards. She stepped to him and he handed her a ring.

"Welcome to the group." He grinned.

Sakura smiled slightly, but shakily. Then she slipped the ring on.


	7. Arranged Marriage : Naruto

AT THE AKATSUKI LAIR:

All the members of Akatsuki were gathered together in a large dark room. We all sat around the large table. This was a vital meeting. At the head sat Pein, the leader of Akatsuki. I was on his right and on his left was Konan. Then there was Tobi, Zetsu, Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori, Kisame, and Deidara all spread out. Everything was silent.

"I called you all here to discuss the treaty." Pein started. "As you know we are making a peace treaty with Konoha. And as you also know everyone is very unsure about the treaty because nothing so far binds us to it. We came up with a way to bind the treaty."

Everyone sat waiting.

"There is going to be a marriage between two of the most important people."

Almost everyone gaped at him and there was dead silence.

"So who is getting married?" Kisame finally choked out.

"Well I'm the most important person here but I'm already married to Konan. So the second most important person will be married. That would be Itachi."

Everyone looked at me for my reaction. My eye widened and I sat completely still.

"Who is he marrying?" Sasori asked

"Well the Hokage is the most important member but she can't marry Itachi for a number of reasons, so they picked her apprentice, Haruno Sakura."

Everyone saw me tense even more.

"There a problem Itachi?" Pein asked.

"Number one, I don't want to marry, and second Haruno Sakura had a relationship with my brother." I said.

"I know. But no one else was available or important enough, or would even agree to stay near you." Pein sighed.

"You mean she agreed to marry Itachi?" Kisame asked.

"Well, her Hokage… 'persuaded' her to do it." Pein said with a small grin.

"So they get married, then what?" Kakuzu asked.

"Well they'll stay here, but they will visit Konoha often. We need this treaty so you aren't going to do anything to ruin it." He said commandingly.

"So I'm forced into marriage." I said calmly.

Everyone, except Konan and Pein, flinched. My eyes showed anger.

"Yes you are forced into marriage. And you will not kill your bride. If she dies it will start a war with Konoha." Pein said.

"Is she weak?" Hidan asked.

"No. She has inhuman strength like Tsunade, medic abilities that surpass Tsunade's, the best genjutsu in Konoha, and she is one of the best at taijutsu." Zetsu's white side said.

He was Akatsuki's spy so no one was surprised he knew about certain information. Everyone just sat in silence.

"When is the wedding?" Tobi asked cheerfully.

Everyone looked at him like he was an idiot, which he certainly acted like.

"Two days. And it's not really a wedding. You say the vows and sign some papers." Pein said. "We will meet Itachi's wife near Konoha."

Everyone was silent. I had an angry aurora around me but smartly nobody said anything. Pein sighed and dismissed everyone. They all quickly got scarce. I was annoyed.** 'A wife will not be too bad. You don't have to talk to her, watch her, or love her. You may be required to share a room with her but you can easily avoid the room. As long as she isn't snobby, stuck up, arrogant or pampered it will be fine.' **The reasonable part of my mind said. I thought taking deep breathes. 'If she is any of that I can ignore her or put her in her place.'

"And Itachi, you will not torture her with your Mangekyou. The bond between Konoha and us is still fragile. If you hurt the girl, Konoha will not be hesitant to break the treaty." Pein said as I walked for the door.

--

Pein could swear he heard a small sigh come from the mass murderer before he left the room.

TWO DAYS LATER

Pein, Kisame, Konan, Sasori, and I were all waiting in a small clearing. The others were waiting back at the base. The Konoha ninja and the bride would be here in five minutes if they were on time. The five Akatsuki stood waiting. We all wore their cloaks and looked bored. I was still a little annoyed but I had to do this or I would be kicked out of Akatsuki, which don't just kick people out. The kill them and kick their bodies out. I could probably take most people in the organization but I couldn't beat Pein and I was about equal with Konan. So I figured I might as well do this and stay alive and powerful. After exactly five minutes five people dropped into the clearing. It was Tsunade the Hokage, Kakashi the copy ninja, Naruto the nine tailed fox, Sai the artist, and Sakura the bride. They all looked blank. Pein and Tsunade stepped forwards. Tsunade had a stack of papers under her arm.

"So the marriage is a go?" She asked.

Pein nodded. Then Sakura and I stepped up. We looked at one another and sized each other up. Sakura probably saw a tall man who looked to be twenty two or so with long black hair, dark-eyes, wearing a large black and red cloak, and who looked irritated. I saw a beautiful girl who looked to be eighteen with long pink hair, deep emerald green eyes, and a resigned and tired look, but with calculating eyes. She was wearing black shorts with a red zip-up t-shirt.

Everyone watched to see what we would do. We just looked at each other then let small sighs escape. The two leaders also sighed and started to sign papers. Then they got the two of us to sign marriage papers and repeat some vows. Then finally it was sealed; the treaty and our forced marriage. Naruto gave Sakura a hug. Then Sai and Kakashi gave her small ones. Then Tsunade picked her up and hugged her tightly. I heard a couple of pops.

"Tsunade, that hurts." Sakura whispered.

I saw Kisame and Pein try to hide grins. Konan and Sasori were blank and the Konoha ninja looked sad. Finally Tsunade dropped the girl.

"Stay strong." She whispered to Sakura.

I only faintly caught it and suspected no one else had heard. 'It won't mater if she stays strong. There is nothing to be strong for.' I thought, smirking inwardly. The Konoha sighed and with some last forced smiles took off. Sakura sighed as they disappeared and turned back to us. She had a small scowl on.

"Well Itachi's wife lets get going." Pein said with a small grin.

"I have a name." She grumbled.

Kisame grinned and Pein grinned even more.

"Okay then Sakura, let's get going. Stay close to your husband." He said.

I could tell he already liked her. Kisame seemed to like her too. I couldn't tell with the others. Pein and Konan jumped off first, followed by Sasori and Kisame. Sakura and I looked at one another once more before following.

BACK AT THE LAIR

We reached the lair after dinner. We walked in and were greeted by Hidan, Zetsu, Tobi, Deidara, and Kakuzu. Actually we weren't really greeted. They just want to meet 'Itachi's wife'. As soon as we were inside they all started to ask questions like 'how did it go' 'is this Itachi's wife' 'did the treaty work out' 'is the girl nice' and such. Sakura just looked at everyone with a blank face. They mostly ignored her except for when they first saw her. Then there were comments like 'wow, she's hot' 'Itachi you lucky bastard' 'she looks weak' and such. My irritation had vanished just before we had reached the base but now it came back. Finally when the questions were answered everyone wandered off, except Pein. He motioned us to follow him. The base was a large mansion and mostly empty because there weren't many members but it was nice having a practically empty mansion. He stopped in an empty hall and opened the largest door. Sakura and I looked in. There was one large king sized bed, two nightstands, two dressers, a door leading to a bathroom, a desk, a couch, and a couple book shelves. I noticed all my stuff was already inside. I sighed.

"This is your guy's new room." Pein said with a grin. "I took the liberty of putting in one bed. I know you two will have so much fun sharing it."

I saw Sakura pale slightly.

"Now Sakura, you are welcome to go where you want but don't leave the area unless one of our members is with you because it's dangerous, and we can't have you getting killed. You will be Itachi and Kisame's partner. You will go on missions. You may refuse any mission that interferes with any friends or such in other villages. Okay?"

Sakura nodded. Then suddenly Pein pushed the two of us in our room.

"Now get to know each other. We don't want you two hating each other forever now."

Then he slammed the door and walked off. I flicked the light on. I looked to Sakura who was looking around. She glanced at me once then threw her bag on the couch. She stood a little distance away from me and didn't seem to be the one who would speak or move first. I looked at her closely. She was quite lovely. She had silky pink hair down to her lower back, sparkling emerald eyes, and a beautiful figure. I wondered what her personality was like. I just ignored her, though, and walked over to the bookshelf. I pulled a book I was half way through off the shelf and sat on the couch. Sakura looked around. Then she grabbed her bag. She reached into it and pulled a book free. She sat on the couch as far as she could get from me. We sat, reading in silence. After about half an hour a knock rang out. We both looked up, then at one another. We met one another's eyes and Sakura stood, walking to the door. She slowly opened it and was greeted by Tobi.

"Hello Sakura! My name is Tobi! Tobi is a good boy!"

Sakura looked a bit startled at his sudden burst of energy.

"Uh…hello Tobi." She said quietly.

"Leader told Tobi to tell Itachi that he said Itachi should show his new bride around!" Tobi sang.

I sighed. I stood up quickly and glided the door. I walked out. Once I was out a few feet I looked back at Sakura. My eyes told her to follow. She scurried after me as I set a quick pace. I showed her the main living room, the meeting room, the kitchen, and the front door. I didn't say anything but she knew what I was showing her. Finally I walked back to the kitchen. Deidara, Pein, and Sasori were there. Deidara was playing with some clay, Sasori was just sitting there, and Pein was looking at some papers. They looked up as we walked in. I grabbed some food and Sakura just sat down. The others watched her for a moment.

"So how are you to hitting it off?" Pein asked suddenly.

"Just smashingly." Sakura said with sarcasm.

Pein grinned.

"Good to see you have a sense of humour." Pein said.

I rolled my eyes and sat down. After a minute Sakura stood and also grabbed some food. I had finished by then. When Sakura finished I stood and headed back to my room. Pein pushed Sakura after me and she quickly caught up. I noticed she always stayed out of arms reach from me. I smirked slightly. This might be fun. When I walked into our room I waited until Sakura was in before shutting the door. It was about nine o'clock now. I decided to go to sleep since there was nothing better to do. I pulled my cloak off and threw it on the back of the desk chair. Then I pulled my shirt, boots, and socks off, I left my pants on though. I noticed Sakura wasn't looking. She was unpacking with her back to me. I sat on the edge of the bed and waited. When she was finished she turned to me. She wasn't looking directly at me.

"I'll sleep on the couch." She said quietly.

I smirked. She was nervous and skittish right now. I smirked even more when I wondered if Sasuke knew about this. I had seen him around the girl before and knew he had feeling for her but kept them hidden. I wished I could see his face if he saw this and found out about it. If he hadn't joined Sound and Orochimaru he would have had a good chance with Sakura. Sakura started to walk for the couch and I got a plan. I couldn't torture her with my Mangekyou or physically but there were other ways to torture someone. I quietly stood and glided over to her. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her back into my chest. She squeaked but didn't fight. I was her 'husband', and she had certain duties since she was my 'wife'. Also she couldn't fight or the treaty would end. That would mean she had failed her 'mission' and was dishonoured along with the fact that as soon as the treaty ended she would be surrounded by enemies. I felt her breathing quicken. She was panicking slightly. I smirked even more. She was very nervous around me.

"Not going to sleep in the bed with your 'husband'?" I asked

"Uh…"

She seemed to be trying to find an excuse. She started to shiver a bit. I grinned. It was fun to make people nervous. If they were nervous they were weaker. And it was just fun to see how nervous you could make people with the smallest things. I let her go and went back to the bed. I looked back at her. She was still standing there. Her breathing had gone back to normal and she looked more relaxed.

"Coming to bed?" I asked.

She ever so slowly walked over. I flopped down on the one side and slid the covers on. I felt the bed sink a bit as she climbed on. She slipped under the covers. I glanced at her. She was on the far side and right on the edge, not even facing me. I smirked and flicked the switch above my bed, turning the lights off.

--

When I woke in the morning Sakura was gone. I wasn't worried though. I hoped that maybe she had changed her mind and got the divorce papers. I sighed. That was one fantasy that most likely wouldn't happen. I stood up. Then I heard running water. I looked over to the bathroom door shut. 'Having a shower.' I summarized. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stayed sitting in bed. I needed a shower too. After a minute the water turned off. Five minutes later Sakura walked out. Her long hair was damp and pulled in a tight bun. Her long bangs were plastered to her face. She looked refreshed and a little more relaxed. She was wearing an out fit similar to her yesterday one. I smirked at her. She cast her eyes down to the floor and avoided me as I walked into the bathroom.

When I had finished my shower I found Sakura still in the room. She was reading on the couch. I walked over and sat right beside her. I looped and arm around her shoulder and looked down at her. She had tensed as soon as I had sat.

"Do you not like me Sakura? You seemed very hesitant to sleep with me last night." I said with a smirk.

"I…well…I just…ah…" She seemed to be racking her brain for an answer.

"So you don't like me?" I asked.

"Not really." She said bluntly.

I chuckled slightly at her response. She seemed to have over come some of her nervousness.

"Well I think you are lovely." I purred.

She froze and her nervousness returned. She started to fidget. What I had said was true.

"Uh… thanks." She said sounding unsure.

I smirked again and put my face close to her neck. She froze as I let my breath roll of her skin.

"We should get to know each other better. I want to know everything about you..._Everything_." I said dragging the word out.

I placed a kiss on her neck. She tensed even more. When I stood up she let out a long, silent breath. I smirked even more. She had been holding her breath the whole time. I walked out of the room towards the kitchen where I grabbed some breakfast. After a few minutes Sakura also walked in. She grabbed some food and sat as far from me as she could. When that was finished I headed out to train. I noticed the others were already out training. Sakura followed but stayed near the others not near me. Some of the others glanced at us looking at the distance between us.

"So not getting along with Itachi?" Kisame asked grinning.

Sakura didn't answer. She just sighed slightly. Then Kisame grinned even more.

"Train with me." He said.

Sakura tilted her head looking at him a moment. Then she nodded. I saw the others start to watch. Pein grinned at Kisame.

"Be careful. She might surprise you." He said.

"How do you know, yeah?" Deidara asked.

"Tsunade told me about her. She's stronger then she looks, she's bursting with energy, she's talkative, and she's kind. She doesn't seem that energetic or talkative though." He said.

Kisame grunted. Sakura looked perfectly calm as she stepped forwards. Both Kisame and she took fighting positions and waited.

"Begin." Pein said.

Kisame moved first, lunging at the girl. She waited till he was almost on top of him, then shot forwards to meet him. His eyes widened as she poked him in each arm and once on each thigh. He flew back and she shot forwards again. She poked him ten more times all over. Then she jumped back and smiled. Kisame who had been knocked back onto his back slowly stood up. He was frowning.

"What did you do?" He asked.

"Chakara points." Was all Sakura said.

"I thought only the Hyuga clan could see them." Sasori said.

"True, they just taught me a couple of the main points. Kisame's chakara will still flow and be of use, but it will be harder to grasp." Sakura said.

That was the most I had heard her speak so far. Kisame scowled and shot forwards again, spinning into a kick. Sakura disappeared in a flash. My eyes widened slightly. Her speed matched mine at least. She appeared behind Kisame. Then Sakura spun nailing Kisame in the back with her foot. He flew forwards. Deidara scrambled to get out of the way as he almost hit him. Kisame hit a tree hard but was back up in an instant. He pulled his sword free. He was serious now. He lunged forwards swiping with his blade. Sakura jumped up. Kisame jumped back as she came down in a kick. We all gaped as the ground her foot had hit cracked open creating a fissure. Kisame wasn't distracted for long though. He swept his blade again. He missed as Sakura avoided the blade and shot forwards. Kisame had time to stare at her for a second before her fist connected with his gut. He flew back, unconscious. We all stayed back. Kisame didn't stand up. Sakura glided over to him and put a hand on his chest. Her hand started to glow green with her chakara. Suddenly Kisame blinked and sat up. 'Seems she is a medic.' I thought. Kisame growled and pulled himself up grabbing his sword.

"Me next, yeah." Deidara said stepping forwards.

Kisame walked over to us. Sakura looked at the young blonde bomb master once. Then she nodded. They both got ready. Deidara looked excited while Sakura looked blank. When Pein said begin Deidara started by throwing a bomb. It headed straight for Sakura. Sakura pulled a kuni free from her pouch and threw it at the small incoming bird/bomb. It hit it dead center and the bomb exploded. Sakura pulled out six shuriken and launched them. Deidara dodged pulling out more clay. He seemed more focused now. He ran closer and threw the bombs at a closer range. Sakura cut two in half with a kuni but a third hit her. She had time to gasp before it exploded on her leg. Deidara grinned. Suddenly Sakura turned into a shadow clone. I scowled slightly. I hadn't even seen her make it. Suddenly Sakura was behind Deidara. I heard her whisperer.

"Close. Next time try to make the bombs more discreet. If I can see them I can dodge or defend."

He spun quickly lashing out with his foot. But Sakura was gone by the time he had spun fully around. He looked around. I smirked as I saw her in the air. Deidara noticed her just before she hit him. He dived out of the way. This time Sakura twisted and landed with out kicking the ground. She looked at Deidara as if planning. Deidara already had more clay out. Sakura started to throw kuni at Deidara. She effectively hit every bomb he launched at her. She also threw some directly at him. He dodged knife after knife. I had started to smirk. I realized what she was doing and had done.

Suddenly Deidara stopped as if frozen. I had wondered when Sakura had missed him with all her knives. I knew she had good aim. If she could hit a tiny bomb then she should easily have been able to hit Deidara. But instead she had missed every single time. Now I saw what she had done. Kuni were embedded in the trees behind and beside Deidara. Connected to each kuni was a chakara string. Deidara was trapped in a net of chakara strings. And each string was attached to Sakura's fingers. The others saw now and smiled. She moved a finger and Deidara's arm was pulled down by a string that had wrapped around his arm. He scowled.

Sasori seemed entertained now. Sakura did some more movements and Deidara seemed to dance. Tobi and Kisame were laughing now, while the others grinned. Sakura flicked her fingers up and down and Deidara twisted and continued his dance. Finally she flicked a couple more times and he did a bow. Everyone was grinning largely now. Even I wore a small grin. Deidara looked very annoyed. Sakura cut the strings and Deidara lunged. She crouched and sprang up, kicking Deidara in the gut. The wind was knocked out of him and he flew ten feet back, where he landed on his back unconscious. Sakura gathered all her knives. Then she walked over to Deidara and healed him. He seemed annoyed. Sasori looked at Sakura closely.

"You know the art of puppetry?" he asked.

"Yes. Kankuro of the sand taught me."

He nodded. Then Deidara walked back to us.


	8. Vampire : Inuyasha

Kagome's POV:

I sighed. Today was as boring as the last. My name is Kagome Higurashi. I'm now eighteen. I came to the feudal era on my fifteenth birthday when I was pulled down the dry well on our shrine. I had met Inuyasha, Shippo, Sango, Kirara, and Miroku. I had accidentally shattered the jewel of four souls and now the six of us were trying to find the last shards while trying to kill Naraku. Naraku was our dreaded enemy. He had made Inuyasha and his love Kikyo betray each other, he had cursed Miroku's family with the wind tunnel, and he had made Sango's little brother Kohaku kill his father then try and kill her, on top of killing her whole demon slaying village. Shippo had lost his father to the thunder brothers and now traveled with us.

For three years we had been gathering shard and hunting Naraku. We now had two shards. Not a lot. Kohaku had one in his back, Koga had two in his legs, and Naraku had the rest. I was given the sacred duty of protecting the jewel and purifying it. Kikyo who had died but been reanimated now traveled with us. She had joined our party a year ago. I didn't mind. Inuyasha now showed open affection for her. When I had first come here I had loved Inuyasha. But now, three years later, I didn't.

Sango and Miroku had agreed to get married after Naraku was destroyed. I sighed. For the first two and a half years of our journey I had loved it here. I had fun running, fighting, and traveling with the others. But now I was just bored. I didn't much care since my family had died. Half a year ago my mother had been murdered by an escaped criminal who needed some hostages. My grandpa had died a year before that from a heart attack. Souta hadn't die but my mother had been murdered in front of his eyes. It had horrified him and made him forget everything kind of like Kohaku. He was looked after by another family now. He didn't even remember me.

Life hadn't held as much meaning since then. I inherited the shrine and went back once in a while to check on it but I didn't do much else back in my time. About then I had also quit school, getting rid of my uniform and switching to black cargo pants, a black t-shirt and a black cloak for the cold. I didn't have a family, a love, or even good friends. Our group had been close and still was but I wasn't that close. They all tried to keep me busy, talking, and happy. Even Kikyo did. I just didn't care. After a while I had been grateful when they had started to forget me.

After the jewel was complete I was most likely going to go to my own time for a life of boredom and hard ships. I didn't have a much of a future in my time. I could stay here but do what? I could be a miko for a village but that would also be boring. I would be respected but bored. Yes, I had learned my miko powers perfectly and I was a master at the bow. Sango and Miroku would get married and look after Shippo for me but they would go on with their lives and Inuyasha and Kikyo would marry and go on with their lives. I would be remembered by some but that was it. I didn't dislike any of them but I didn't love them.

Sango was a friend but her time was now spent with Miroku. Shippo stayed with Kirara and Sango more. Miroku stayed with Sango, and Kikyo and Inuyasha were always together. I wasn't even needed since Kikyo could also see jewel shards, but I wasn't ready to go back home just yet. Kirara was the only one who stayed by me most of the time. She had started to like me even better then Sango. If we fought she would fight with me and protect me first. Sango didn't notice too much since all she had eyes for was Miroku. Kirara and I were best friends. She also knew my deep secret. None of the others did. They didn't even notice the clues that pointed to my secret.

They all forgot about me. I just stayed small and quiet. I liked to be ignored. It was harder when they all tried to watch me. Sango had always looked after me as if I were a child. Miroku tried to be respectful but we were just average friends. Inuyasha had always looked after me too, like I couldn't watch myself. Shippo had been hanging off my shoulder and it was very annoying. Kikyo and I had an agreement but not much more. I sighed again.

We were currently in a small clearing by a fire in the growing darkness. The fire flames flickered and chased each other seeing who could get highest into the sky. The smoke laughed at the flames as it soared above the trees. The wood cried as it burned. I watched the embers with my elbows on my knees and my chin in my hands. I looked up at the others. We had finished dinner and everyone was just relaxing. Sango and Miroku were cuddled up together. Inuyasha and Kikyo were sitting up in the branches of a tree and Shippo was curled up in a blanket. Kirara was curled up around my neck. I sighed again.

It was boring. Don't get me wrong, there were exciting and frightening days and times but sometimes it was really boring. I wasn't empty either. I still felt fear, anger, loathing, sadness, love, and happiness, though I rarely felt the last two. Sometimes I just felt blank too like there were no need for feelings. Suddenly Kirara mewed. Sesshomaru, Rin, A-un, and Jaken walked into the clearing while looking at everyone. I had sensed them before they had even reached the clearing. I looked at Sesshomaru and waited.

"Hey Sesshomaru, what's up?" Inuyasha asked.

We had all considered one another allies for the last year. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru had come to an agreement and now they were friends. We often traveled and ran into each other.

"Just stopping for the night." Sesshomaru said with a glance up the tree.

"Well make yourself at home." Miroku said.

He nodded and A-un dropped to the ground curling up. Jaken grumbled and sat by the dragon. Jaken had never really been that happy about our alliance. Rin sat beside Jaken humming. I stood and glided over to the girl. She squeaked when I touched her gently on the shoulder. She turned to me a little startled

"Would you like to go to the hot springs with me?" I asked with an empty voice.

She grinned suddenly and nodded vigorously. I grabbed my bath supplies from my bag and led the girl by the hand towards the springs.

Sesshomaru's POV:

When we had stepped into the clearing the first person I had noticed was the Miko. She had been sitting on a stump looking blankly in the fire. She had watched me as I spoke to my brother. Then she had stood and glided to Rin. I scowled slightly. No human should have been as quiet as her. She hadn't made a single noise, not even the crunch of grass under her feet. It was as if she hadn't even touched the ground. She had grabbed her stuff and taken Rin to the spring. I glanced after her once.

She was odd ever since about six moths ago. More then half the time she was empty or bored looking, not showing a trace of emotion. When she did show emotion it was very little and rarely happiness or love. I saw that the others hadn't noticed at all. They were all to busy with their relationships. But I had noticed that the fire cat stuck close to her. I was slightly suspicious but more worried. Not for the miko but for Rin. I left the couples and walked off towards the springs. The others didn't even notice me leave. I walked to the spring. Before I even reached it I heard splashing and Rin's laughter. As soon as I was in view the miko looked at me.

"Yes?"

I blinked. I had expected her to scream, dive under the water or at least glare at me for walking in on her bath. She was just sitting calmly watching me, her breasts showing through the water, though I didn't care. She was a human after all, she did not interest me.

"What is wrong?" I asked.

"I didn't know you cared." She said blandly.

"I don't. But I do care for Rin's safety. And if you are desperate or mad then that puts her in danger."

Rin hadn't even noticed I was here as she was playing with a round floating thing.

"I am not mad or desperate."

"Then what? I am not blind unlike your companions. You are almost always empty or bored. You never seem to care and when you walked over to Rin you were unnaturally quiet. Even demons are rarely that quiet."

"That is my business. As to being bored and empty, I just don't care. Why should I? After I am done here my life is done. I have no family or even friends at the moment except for Kirara. And I hate my era. I like it here but the only thing I could do is be a miko for a village. It doesn't prove an exciting life."

I scowled at her. Suddenly I heard the fire cat growl. She was still in her small form but she was growling at me. I glared at her. No demon should be so disrespectful to the lord of the west.

"Why is that fire cat loyal to you? The last time I checked her mistress was the slayer."

"Yes well the slayer is too busy, she chose me as a new master."

"Why?"

The woman grinned.

"Because."

I growled and advanced. Suddenly she snarled at me. I stepped back slightly surprised. Her eyes had flashed red! And her growl had sent a shiver of fear down my spine.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Kagome Higurashi; an eighteen year old with miko powers."

"You are human, no?"

She grinned but didn't answer. Then she turned from me.

"Leave now Sesshomaru."

For some reason I felt I should obey. I turned and with one last glance at them walked back to the others.

Naraku's POV:

I was slightly startled. Lord Sesshomaru of the west had just obeyed the last command of the miko. I was sitting against a wall looking into Kanna's mirror. I had been watching the group for the past couple of weeks. They all seemed to think I hated them and wished to kill them and a lot of other humans, but I didn't really. My reason for getting the jewel was to become a full demon. I just didn't care about others lives. If a few died, then too bad. Once I had the jewel I wouldn't set up as many betrayals, tricks, and traps. I actually planned to rule the south. It was open to anyone who wished to as were the other lands. All you had to do was kill the present ruler. That was how it worked. If a stronger demon killed the ruler of a land then they got to be the new ruler and ruled it.

But back to the group. I didn't hate any of them. I disliked them yes, but no more then that. I disliked Inuyasha because he was a nuisance. I disliked Kikyo because she awoke the heart of Onigumo. I disliked the slayer because her kind killed demons and such. I disliked the monk because his grandfather had thwarted a plan of mine. I didn't even really notice the fox pup. And the fire cat I didn't notice except for when she fought for the slayer. Lately she hadn't though. She had stayed by the miko.

The miko puzzled me. I watched her a lot. She seemed different. She was less human. She didn't act on her emotions, she didn't have foolish notions of friends that much anymore, and she didn't seem to think her of the others as her friends anymore. And from what I heard she was bored. She had no family and no real purpose. I still was confused by her too. When I watched her I didn't feel dislike or hate or envy or loathing and I didn't ignore her. She stood out. She was like a jewel in the group of stones. I watched her closely. I wondered why I watched her. Why? That was the word that came up every time I thought of the miko. I signalled Kanna to leave and she did so quickly. I sat thinking a moment. Then I stood and flew out of my castle.

Kagome's POV:

Sesshomaru left with one last glance at us. I sighed and sunk deeper into the water. After a couple of minutes I washed my hair then helped Rin wash hers. After that Rin jumped out and pulled her clothes on and ran back to camp saying something about not wanting to worry Sesshomaru and Jaken. Kirara went to accompany her so she didn't get lost or hurt. I just sat and sank deeper into the water. My thoughts so drifted to our 'quest'. We had to kill Naraku and restore the jewel. I didn't much care about the jewel. Actually at the moment Kikyo carried our shards. She hadn't asked but I had given them to her. I didn't care about the jewel that much.

And killing Naraku? Why? He hadn't done anything to me personally and the others were foolish. Yes it was a bit mean to make Kohaku kill his father but hey, they were demon slayers. They shouldn't have taken the kid on a mission. And killing her village? They were demon slayers and they knew that demons would hate them. Miroku and his wind tunnel? His grandfather was foolish and fell for a stupid trick. Then there was Inuyasha and Kikyo. If their love had been so pure and strong then how did Naraku break them up so easily? And Kikyo was a miko, a skilled one. She should have been able to sense that it wasn't Inuyasha but Naraku in disguise.

Naraku actually didn't seem that bad. We really didn't know him. We only knew his bad deeds and points. We said we couldn't let him have the jewel but why not? How did we know he wanted it for evil? If you thought of his good points then he seemed normal. He only attacked us. He attacked us when we weren't near villages so no innocents got hurt. And he didn't usually kill needlessly. He usually had a reason. I, kind of, thought of Naraku as a decent guy with some issues. I giggled at that thought. Then I froze. I hadn't giggled in months. I smiled slightly and leaned back closing my eyes. Suddenly I heard a cackle. I opened one eye and looked at the man with wavy black hair in blue and purple robes, in a baboon pelt.

Naraku's POV:

I landed near the oblivious miko and activated one of my abilities. It was the power to read peoples immediate thoughts. It was a rare ability but took a lot of energy. I had a small barrier around me so no one could smell or sense me. I looked at the miko. She was thinking of why she had to kill me and complete the jewel. She seemed almost annoyed that her 'friends' expected her to help kill me when she had no problem or quarrel with me. I raised my eye brow when she thought of me as a decent guy with a few issues. She giggled then froze. She seemed surprised she had giggled. She hadn't giggled months. Then I chuckled slightly. She opened one eye and looked at me before sighing. I was a bit surprised. She hadn't screamed, ran, dived under water, or frozen in fear. I guessed that wasn't expected from her last thoughts.

"Hello Naraku." She said.

"Hello Miko."

"What do you want?"

I didn't answer just stood watching her. She scowled slightly and grabbed a white fluffy towel from beside her on the rocks. She stood while wrapping the towel around her. I smirked. The towel showed a lot of cleavage, and barely reached a third of the ways to her knees. She frowned again as I smirked.

"Again; What do you want?"

Once again I didn't answer. I looked her up and down and frowned. I liked her body. That wasn't a bad thing but still, I, Naraku, liked a woman's body. It puzzled me. I looked into her eyes. They held annoyance. I still was puzzled. If anyone else had glared at me like she was now I would have slain them on the spot. But instead I found I liked her when she was annoyed. She looked cute. She crossed her arms and waited. I smirked again. I then sensed the fire cat heading for us. She popped out of the bushes in front of Kagome. She wasn't growling because her new master didn't seem angry of that afraid but she did glare and hiss slightly at me. I sighed and took off back towards my castle.

Kagome's POV:

I watched as Naraku flew off. 'What was his deal?' He hadn't said why he was here; he hadn't attacked me, threatened me, or attacked the others. He had watched me as if thoughtfully studying me. I had got a close look at him to. He was hot. I didn't care that I thought that about my enemy. He wasn't really my enemy and he did look hot. No one could deny that. I even thought Sesshomaru and Miroku were hot. Kirara turned to me. She tilted her head and mewed.

"I'm fine. He didn't do or even say that much. He isn't completely evil."

She nodded.

"Come, some of the others will notice our absence."

She nodded again. I pulled my clothes on and she jumped into my arms. I hugged her close and she curled into me.

"Thank you for being there for me. You are my only friend. The others don't care anymore."

She mewed sadly and agreed. Even her former mistress had pretty much abandoned her. I walked back to camp with her in my arms. When I reached the camp everyone except Sesshomaru was asleep. He watched me as I walked into camp. I grinned at him and sat against a tree pulling a blanket on me and Kirara.

.--.

I woke up later then everyone else. It wasn't unusual. I usually stayed awake the latest and slept the longest. I was a night person, almost nocturnal. Sometimes the others even left me behind. I would always catch up on Kirara though. I yawned and stood. The fire had died long ago. I didn't see Sango, Shippo, Miroku, Inuyasha, or Kikyo anywhere. Sesshomaru, Rin, Jaken, and A-un were sitting against the tree. Rin was still sleeping the same with A-un, but Sesshomaru and Jaken were watching me. I made sure they couldn't see my eyes.

"They left you behind." Sesshomaru stated.

"They do that a lot."

He blinked and then frowned.

"Why?"

"They forget about me or just don't care. Kirara and I'll catch up later."

"Don't they notice you are missing?"

"Not until they want something, and even then they don't miss me sometimes."

He looked a bit taken back.

"I thought they were your friends. When you first started traveling with them they always watched you. If you were gone for more then a minute they would panic."

I nodded.

"I know."

"Why do they forget about you now?"

I smiled slightly but didn't answer. He watched me a moment.

"What are you?"

"…"

"I don't think you are human."

I grinned and looked straight at them. Jaken gasped as he looked into my red eyes. Sesshomaru just looked blank.

"What…" Sesshomaru started.

"Not telling." I sang.

"How long have your eyes been red?" He asked.

"All night and when ever I want."

"The others never mentioned it."

I laughed.

"They don't even notice leaving me behind and you think they will notice something as trivial as my eyes?"

"Why are they red?"

"Because."

When I didn't say more he went on.

"You aren't human."

"No I guess not."

He scowled.

"I do not sense anything but miko powers in you and you smell…"

He frowned.

"I can not smell you."

"It easy to put a barrier around myself and cut me from your sense of smell."

He frowned.

"Well, till next time Sesshomaru."

Then Kirara transformed and I climbed onto her back before we jumped into the sky. When we caught up to the group they didn't even notice as we landed beside them. Only Shippo greeted me. Shippo had even become distant since I had become less cheerful. Right now the group was heading for Kaede's village. We traveled most of the day before we reached it. When we did Kaede greeted us and sat us down for some stew. Once we were seated the others talked about our travels. I noticed they always left me out. Kaede noticed too and frowned at them with a quick glance at me. I shook my head and she stayed silent. When they had all finished talking and sat down to sleep. Then Kaede and I stepped outside. She turned to me looking sad.

"They still forget about ye child?"

"Yes, but I don't mind."

"I be sorry. They shouldn't not after all you've done for them."

"It's okay. Even if you got after them they would still forget me."

She sighed.

"Don't worry Kaede. I don't mind it is actually nice and I get a lot of time with Kirara."

Kaede seemed to notice Kirara at my feet.

"So you changed mistresses?"

Kirara mewed.

"I have to say your old mistress is mighty strange lately. They all be acting strange."

The cat wilted slightly and gave me a sad look. She mewed in agreement.

"At least you have been smart and stayed with Kagome." She bowed her head slightly. "Thank you."

The fire cat bowed back slightly and mewed. Kaede turned back to me.

"I'm truly sorry child. You know you are always welcome here and you can stay here, you do not have to travel with them."

"You do not need to apologize and I thank you for the offer. But I'm sorry but I don't think I could settle down and be a full time miko."

Kaede smiled slightly.

"I know you are too restless."

"Kaede you are my only friend beside Kirara. I thank you for your kindness. I will never forget it."

Kaede returned the hug I gave her.

"I'm going back to my era for a while. Will you try to stall the others for as long as you can?"

She smiled and nodded. I thanked her and grabbed my black backpack and ran with Kirara to the well. Kirara had come through the well before. I had learned anyone with a rosary or someone touching me at the time could get through. I grabbed the small fire cat and jumped into the well. The blue glow surrounded me and I felt light just before I touched down. Kirara and I jumped from the well and into the well house. We walked out into the shrine yard. It was empty and dark. I sighed and walked with Kirara to the house. It was locked but I had a key on a small necklace I wore. I unlocked the house and stepped in. I didn't even bother to turn the lights on. The house still had all its furniture in place. Everything was where I had left it, when my mother had been killed. Only now the cupboards were bare. I sighed and walked upstairs. I flopped down on my old bed which was a bit dusty and fell asleep instantly.

.--.

I woke up early and walked downstairs. I planned to go shopping then I would go back through the well. Kirara mewed a good bye. She knew she had to stay on the shrine grounds. I quickly walked down the streets. I stopped at my first stop; A clothes store. I need some new ones. I bought a couple pairs of black pants and a couple of shirts. Then I headed to a grocery store. I bought a couple of things and headed off again. This time I stopped outside a school fence. I looked in and watched one boy. He was a fifteen year old and had black hair. He was playing soccer with some other middle scholars. It was gym. I just stood and watched him run down the field. I missed him. Suddenly I heard three high pitch squeals.

"Kagome?! Is that you?!"

I looked back to see Yuri, Eri, Ayumi, and Hojo running towards me.

"We haven't seen you in ages!" Eri said.

"Yeah. We went to your shrine but it was dark and no one was home." Yuri said.

"Why did you quite school?" Ayumi asked.

I just looked at them once before I watched Souta again. Suddenly I was spun around facing my four friends. Eri was holding my shoulders and they all looked worried.

"Kagome are you okay."

"No." I said

"Are you sick again?" Hojo asked.

"No." I said.

"Then what's wrong?" Ayumi asked.

Then Yuri spotted Souta."

"Hey Souta is your sister okay!?" she yelled.

Souta and some other boys looked over.

"I don't have a sister, and who are you?" He asked.

My friend's eyes all widened.

"Sorry they thought you were someone else." I said while I walked away.

He shrugged and the boys returned to their game. My friends followed quickly. Suddenly they stopped me.

"That was Souta right?" They asked.

I just gave them a sad look.

"What's the mater Kagome?" Hojo asked.

"You don't know?" I asked.

"What?" They all asked.

"Six months ago when I quit school it wasn't because I was getting to sick."

They all waited with small frowns.

"It was because my mother was murdered."

Their eyes widened.

"What?" Ayumi asked quietly.

"An escaped criminal killed my mother in front of my brother's eyes. He was distraught. He lost all his memories of me and our life. I wasn't allowed to be his guardian. Some family adopted him. He doesn't know me. I'm not his sister. I'm a stranger."

I didn't cry. I hadn't cried in a long time even at my mothers funeral, or when the doctor had said my grandfather had died, or when my brother had woke in the hospital had asked who I was. They gaped at me a moment then embraced me as if trying to comfort me.

"It's okay Kagome."

"So where have you been?" Hojo asked.

"I went to live with some relatives in another part of Japan. I just came back for today."

They nodded. I pushed away from them.

"I'm sorry but this is the last time I will see you."

They all looked distraught. I turned and walked away. I ran when I was out of sight. I had two more stops. I ran to a flower shop and brought the three most beautiful bouquets it had. I carried them towards the cemetery. I walked into the area covered in graves and walked to the back. I stopped by the three separate graves. I laid a bouquet on each one; One for my mother, one for my father, on for my grandfather. Then I said goodbye and left. My last stop was coming soon. I stopped in front of a large house and rang the door bell. A woman answered the door and smiled softly at me.

"Kagome…"

"Hello Riva. I've come to say goodbye."

She nodded as if she understood. She invited me in and I walked in. She sat me at the table and made some tea. We sat in silence until we finally heard the door open.

"Mom! I'm home."

"I'm in the kitchen dear."

Souta walked in.

"Oh! You're the woman who found me unconscious when I was hit by a car."

That was the story they had made. They told Souta he had been hit by a car and I had found him.

"Yes I am."

"Thank you."

I blinked back tears and stood. I walked over to Souta and hugged him tight. He just stood looking confused.

"Goodbye Souta."

"Um… Goodbye."

I pressed a package into his hand. It was Shikon no tama key chain from the shrine. I could feel tears on my cheek.

"Promise me you'll keep that."

He sensed this was important to me.

"I promise."

His adoptive mother was crying too. I kissed him on the cheek and walked out the door not looking back. When I reached our shrine I quickly walked in. I packed my bag quickly with some worried looks from Kirara. Then we both walked out the door and jumped down the well. When we emerged I sat down and sighed. After a couple of minutes I stood and got ready to leave but a silky smooth voice stopped me.

"They left you behind again."

I slowly turned to Naraku. He was just standing there with out a care in the world.

"Mh."

"Why do you even continue to travel with them?"

"Because I simply have nothing better to do."

He chuckled. Then he glanced at the well.

"I know you go some where when you jump into the well. Is it another dimension, the past, or the future? It is most unlikely that it is the past."

I could feel no harm in telling him.

"Five hundred years in the future."

He nodded then squinted at me.

"Why were your eyes red?"

"So you were the one watching." I stated.

He blinked.

"How did you know I was watching?"

"Instincts."

"I'm guessing you aren't going to tell me why your eyes were red."

"No."

"Then will you tell me why your friends have forgotten you?"

"No."

"They don't just forget you. Sometimes they don't even see you. Their eyes pass over you many times but they seem not to see you."

I just grinned.

"You are staying though? Not going back to your time?"

"My time sucks. It is very nice for many people, but I belong here. I travel with the others because I would rather do that then be a village miko."

He nodded then he looked thoughtful as he studied me again.

"Do you wish to stay with me in my castle?"

I blinked. Did he just offer to let me stay with him?

"Why offer?"

"Because you are… interesting." He smirked.

"Let me think about it."

He nodded.

"Till next time then, Kagome."

He smiled at me before jumping off. Kirara mewed by my leg. She looked curious.

"We may accept his offer."

She nodded. She would follow me anywhere no mater the results of my choice be they good be they bad. I smiled and she transformed. I jumped on her back and she took off. 'He gets hotter every time I see him.' I thought. I smirked. He was hot, sexy, and strong. If I were looking for a mate, he would be at the top of my list. I sighed and buried my head into Kirara's mane. She made a low throaty sound as if comforting me. I smiled at her and rubbed her head. She purred and then took off at a faster speed.

I was wondering when we would catch up to the others when I saw below us a group of bandits with some low level demons attacking a village. I signalled Kirara and she nodded diving down to the earth. When the bandits and demons saw her they all advanced on us. I didn't have a weapon but I saw a knife in a dead man two feet away. I strolled over and tore the blade from the dead man. I scowled at the sticky blood on the knife. It was a nice knife and it had been left in the corpse of a dead human. I tsked and turned to the threat. Kirara was dealing with the humans and the demons were advancing on me.

Naraku's POV:

I smirked as I flew off. The miko would most likely accept my offer. I frowned thoughtfully a moment. I wondered why her eyes had been red. Sesshomaru was smart figuring out there was more to her then usual. I sighed as I remembered the miko. She was stunning; her breasts, hips, and lips. God those lips. They teased me every time I saw them. They were begging to be kissed, her hair was screaming to be stroked, and her body was crying to be held. I growled at myself. I had never let a woman effect me so. I sighed. But she was affecting me. I wanted to hold her, stroke her, ravish her, kiss her. I wanted to tare her clothes off. I wanted to see the need for me in her eyes. I cursed again. She was really getting to me. I walked to my room and sat down. Suddenly Kanna was there.

"You told me to check in on the miko once in a while and inform you of any occurrences."

"Yes."

"Something has happened." Her voice sounded like water.

"Show me."

'So soon?' I asked myself as I looked at the mirror. Her mirror flashed showing her and the fire cat surrounded by demons and bandits. I stood ready to go aid her but stopped when I saw her sigh and look over the demons as if they were annoyances. I sat back down and watched as she pulled a knife from a dead body. She looked at the knife and tsked.

"Worthless human blood should not stain a knife this fine."

I blinked. Wasn't this the girl who had defended humans all the time? She had just called the human blood worthless. She sighed again and switched the knife to her other hand. The demons laughed at her and charged. She waited till they were almost on her. Then she lashed out. The knife sliced through the throat of one demon. She turned almost to fast for me to see and drove it into the heart of another. The other dead one hadn't even fallen yet. In one fluid movement she crouched and then sprang up cutting the third demon from toe to head.

The last demon tried to run but she threw the knife. It slammed into his heart and he crumpled. I stood with slightly widened eyes. This was the miko that had never been brave or strong. She had needed Inuyasha to protect her all the time. I blinked as she pulled the knife from the demon. She was covered from head to toe in blood. Her eyes were red again. She picked up the knife and licked the blood off one side. She sighed in pleasure and licked some off her finger.

"Delicious." She murmured.

My eyes widened. She had licked the blood off her knife and hand and liked it. That settled it. She wasn't a human miko. But what was she was the question. I knew Kagura was behind me. I turned to her. She was starring wide eyed at the mirror. I smirked.

"Kagura prepare a room for the miko. She will be joining us shortly."

Kagura snapped from her trance and nodded. Jogging off, she cast one last look at the now blank mirror.

"Kanna you do not need to check on the miko anymore."

"Of course master."

I smirked and leaned back. I couldn't wait for the miko to come. She would be mine.

Kagome's POV:

I licked the blood off one hand.

"Excuse me." A voice quivered from behind me.

I turned and looked at the man addressing me. He seemed to be the village headmen. The men and women of the village were behind him. They all looked very wary. I changed my eyes back to water blue as not to frighten them.

"Yes."

"Thank you."

He bowed low.

"It was nothing."

"We would like to thank you."

"You do not need too."

I started for Kirara.

"Let us at least give you some clean clothes to wear."

I thought a moment, and then nodded. A girl ran off and returned a moment later with a black bundle. I bowed slightly.

"Thank you."

I thought a moment then unleashed some miko power. A pink barrier sprang up around the village.

"This is my thanks for the clothes. It will keep those who wish you ill out."

They all starred as the barrier faded to see through.

"You are a miko?" The man asked.

I nodded. They bowed again and I jumped back on Kirara. Kirara jumped into the sky and we shot off.

.--.

We flew all night and the next day. We didn't really know where the others were but didn't care much anymore. We were just trying to kill some time till Naraku came. I still hadn't washed the blood off or changed but when we stopped by a hot springs Kirara shot off to go check the area and I slipped into the spring. I washed till the blood was gone. Then stood and pulled on the clothes from the village. It was a black fighting kimono. The obi was blood red. I smiled and slipped the knife, I had kept, in the obi. I burned the clothes that were covered in blood. The blood was already eating away at them. As soon as I did so I heard foot steps. I turned and saw Naraku heading straight for me.

Naraku's POV:

I soon found the miko burning her clothes that the demon blood was eating at. When she turned to me, as I approached, I froze. Her face was freshly scrubbed and the firelight dancing on it was beautiful. Her long hair was dripping and some strands were plastered to her face. Her black Kimono clung to her and showed everything. Her lips, red as blood, were waiting for mine to ravish them.

"Tell me why you want me to stay with you." Kagome said.

I decided words wouldn't explain much here. I stepped closer to her. My aurora grew the closer I got until you could feel almost all my power. She backed away unconsciously. I smirked as she bumped into a tree and seemed to wonder when she had moved. I continued to advance. I set up a barrier around the area so we wouldn't be disturbed. Then I slammed an arm on either side of her. She looked surprised slightly. I leaned in quickly and captured her luscious lips with mine.

I had longed for this, dreamed of it. Now that it was happening it was a hundred times better then I had imagined. She gasped and I slipped my tongue into her mouth. My one hand grabbed her ass pulling her close to me as my other hand rested on the back of her neck deepening the kiss. I ravished her mouth with my tongue. My mouth screamed with pleasure. I noticed, though, when she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me back. 'Kami yes.' I thought. She was kissing back. That was defiantly a good sign. Finally I ran out of breath. I broke the kiss. We were both panting heavily now.

"I know what a bit of heaven tastes like now." I whispered as I trailed kisses up her neck.

Then I bit her ear hard. She let a moan of pleasure escape.

"So have you accepted my offer?" I asked huskily.

"Hell yes." She whispered.

"Then let's go."

"Kirara?" She said.

"She shall come to."

I took my barrier and the fire cat came in growling slightly. When she saw her mistress with her arms still wrapped around her. She mewed and turned small. She jumped on my shoulder and I returned to the castle. I slowly let Kagome go. I really wanted to hold onto her forever but I couldn't. Not yet. She kissed me one last time and I revelled it. When we finally let go Kagura was walking towards us. Her mouth was shut but her eyes showed shock. She had caught the last bit of our kiss.

"Kagura, show Kagome to her room."

"Yes master."

Kagome winked at me and followed the wind sorceress. I licked my lips with a sigh. She tasted of rain water and honey. Her taste was still on my lips. I walked to my room; I did have work to do.

Kagome's POV:

Kagura kept glancing at me as we walked down the hall.

"May I ask what you two were doing when we showed up?"

"What did it look like?"

"Kissing?" She asked hesitantly.

I grinned widely and she gaped.

"So I'm not going mad?" She asked.

"Of course not."

She laughed slightly but not a humorous laugh. She stopped at a set of doors and opened them. I looked into the large red room. It was a deep crimson and had black furniture. It had a large bed, a nightstand, a desk, a changing screen, a wardrobe, and a book shelf. Off to one side was a second door leading to a small spring.

"Naraku's room is next to yours on the left. Mine is to the right and Kanna's is across the hall." Kagura said as if she was deep in thought.

"Thank you Kagura."

She blinked at me.

"You're welcome. You are allowed to roam the castle but be careful of the demons."

"I can take care of myself."

She nodded and headed out the door. I could swear I heard her say 'I believe that' before she was gone. I threw my back pack on the bed and slipped off to find Naraku. I had a few questions. I used my miko powers and in a minute I had pin-pointed him. I walked off down the halls till I reached my destination. I knocked on a large door and was called to enter. I walked in and saw Naraku sitting on the ground looking into Kanna's mirror. He seemed to lighten as I stepped in. He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me.

"What is it Kagome?"

"I had some questions."

"Ask."

"Am I allowed outside the castle?"

He nodded.

"Are there any duties you want me to do?"

He shook his head.

"And why do you want me here again?" I asked teasingly.

He grinned and kissed me full force again.

"Because you are wonderful." He whispered into my ear before kissing me again.

I moaned and wrapped my arms around his neck kissing him back.

Kagura's POV:

I gaped at the pair. Naraku was kissing the miko like there was no tomorrow and the miko was returning the kiss. They were so busy they didn't notice Kanna hadn't been dismissed and was watching with wide eyes, or that Kagome had left the door open letting me see. Kanna saw me and slowly slipped out the door.

"Kanna can you tell me where Sesshomaru is?"

The white haired girl nodded. She showed me him in the mirror. I glanced at the kissing pair once more and walked outside pulling a feather from my hair and shooting off into the sky.

Sesshomaru's POV:

Before I even reached Inuyasha and his group I noticed the absence of the miko. I walked into the clearing and looked around. Everyone was acting as if they didn't even notice she was gone. Inuyasha spotted me and nodded.

"Where is the miko?" I asked.

"Right here." Kikyo said.

"I meant the other one."

They looked confused a moment.

"Oh you mean what's her name." Inuyasha said.

I frowned. He didn't even remember her name. It was not natural the way they forgot her. I bet anything she was behind their forgetting. Inuyasha took about three minutes to answer.

"I think she disappeared about….a month ago? Maybe it was longer ago. I can't quite recall." Inuyasha said slowly as if trying to remember.

It had only been a couple days ago he had last seen the miko so they hadn't even noticed her for a month.

"And you don't care?" I asked.

"Not really." They all said.

I noticed the fire cat was gone too. I frowned. As Rin, Jaken, and A-un settled down I felt the wind pick up. I narrowed my eyes as I realized it must be Kagura. I walked off with out anyone even noticing. I walked about a hundred feet from the clearing to another clearing. Kagura was standing there.

"Hello Sesshomaru." She said.

I scowled slightly. She seemed thoughtful, not commanding or haughty today.

"What?" I asked.

"I wished to see if you had noticed the miko was gone."

My eyes narrowed.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"I was just wondering and came to give you a warning."

I blinked.

"What warning?"

"The next time you see Kagome, do not trust her. You most likely won't see her till you see Naraku though."

I frowned.

"Why with Naraku?"

"She has joined us."

I blinked as my eyes widened slightly.

"What did you threaten her with?"

Kagura frowned.

"I didn't even know she was coming till she got there. Naraku invited her and she accepted."

"She wouldn't just accept."

"I guess having a love affair with Naraku helped her make her decision."

My eyes widened at what she had just said.

"What?" I asked.

"She is having an affair with Naraku. The last I saw of the two they were making out in a room."

I hid my surprise.

"The others haven't noticed." I said.

"I know. I suspect Kagome has something to do with that." She said.

Suddenly she frowned.

"I have to go."

Then she pulled a feather free and rode up into the sky. As soon as she was gone I let my eyes widen and my jaw drop. The miko was having a love affair with Naraku!? That was so crazy I believed it. I stood a moment. Then I headed back to the clearing. When Jaken saw me his eyes widened. He had been with me long enough that even though my eyes only showed surprise it was like Inuyasha jumping up and yelling 'What!'

"What happened?" He asked when I was next to him.

I decided I could trust him.

"Kagura and I had a chat."

He growled.

"It seems the miko Kagome is having a love affair with Naraku."

The imp fainted right then and there. I just closed my eyes and wondered when the world had gone insane; evil murderous demons falling in love with pure human mikos, people forgetting their best friends, fire cats changing mistresses in a snap, and myself being surprised. How come I hadn't noticed the world was insane earlier? The signs were so easy to see.

Kagome's POV:

Naraku and I stayed together for a few more minutes before we finally broke apart. We were both gasping for air but ready for more. 'He is so hot and his kisses are like … I can't even describe them.' I sighed happily. He actually smiled a real smile at me.

"Well my miko…"

"Don't call me a miko. I'm not really a miko."

He blinked then raised an eyebrow.

"Then what are you?"

"Would you like to see?"

He nodded. I smiled at him and took his hand leading him to my room. Once there I took a deep breathe and lifted the miko barriers and illusions from around me. He starred at me. I now had even longer light absorbing black hair, I had red eyes, my claws had grown slightly, and I had grown four fangs. I also had different powers.

"You can't be…" He started his eyes wide.

"Yes, I'm a royal vampire."

Naraku's POV:

I starred at Kagome. She was a vampire. I could sense her power. Vampires were like a kind of demon but not quite. They actually had demon abilities but lived with humans and looked human pretty much. They were immortal like a demon, had half strength of a demon, half the speed, half stealth, but twice the senses. One thing different from a demon was they drank blood, they did not eat flesh. She was overflowing with power. I had seen a vampire before but he hadn't been nearly this powerful. There were two types of vampires that I knew of. Normal vampires just a little better then humans, and elite vampires; they were fighters and stronger then normal vampires. Vampires now though, were rare. There were still some of them, but they were scattered and thinning. Elite vampires were already close to extinction.

"What is a royal Vampire?" I asked slowly.

"I take it you already know what a vampire is."

I nodded.

"A royal vampire is, at the lowest strength five times as powerful as the strongest elite vampire."

My eyes widened.

"Royal vampires are like elite vampires but from the long line of royal ancestry. They were the first vampires and ruled the other vampires. Only pure bloods, those born of a two vampires with royal blood get the power of a royal vampire. My father was a royal vampire, the same with my mother. But only I inherited the demon blood. My brother is human. But if I wish I can become human. My parents did and they died. I have disguised myself as a human for the past fifteen years. Royal vampires also have more skills and abilities then elite and normal vampires. For one we can change those we bite into vampires, we are even more immortal then a demon, you can cut my head off and I'll live, and we can cast sorcery and control the mind of others slightly."

"What about the miko powers?"

"Well since I'm not a demon and almost human the powers will stay with me. Many vampires in the past have had spiritual powers. We're actually almost human; we just evolved the next step farther."

I looked at her closely.

"So you made your friends forget you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because it is annoying to have people always watching you."

I nodded.

"How did you do it?"

She grinned.

"Why don't we go visit them? I would like to lift the spell on them and see their faces." She grinned even more. "Then I'll explain."

I smirked too. I would love to see their faces when they realized they had forgotten her for the past months and their shock at seeing her with me. By the grin on her face, she would also like to see the looks. I nodded and she smiled. She whistled and the fire cat came trotting in. She mewed questioningly. Kagome just held out her arm.

"Is she actually loyal to you or is that a spell too?" I asked.

She smiled.

"She is loyal to me. Not just because Sango forgot us either. You see when Royal Vampire started to rule we were supreme. We have been around longer then demons. We were there when you were first created by the pure elves, who turned evil and fought one another casting permanent spells on one another and making every last one of them selves demons."

My eyes widened at the knowledge of the demon history.

"Some of those elves became refined demons. Like Sesshomaru's ancestry, and such. But as I was saying, when we first came there were only vampires and elves. Later the humans came, around the same time as the elves changed to demons. They came form other lands and some of the normal vampires figured out how to become human too and joined them. You know how greedy and selfish humans are. We greeted them, welcomed them, gave them land, invited them to our castles and made them part of our courts. But they betrayed us. They thought they were supreme. They wished to rule and make us their slaves. We had to fight some of them. It is almost impossible to kill a royal vampire, but then one human leader found out how to kill us. This was disastrous. We still had some humans on our side but slowly normal vampires started to join the humans. Then one royal Vampire who had had an argument with one of the other royal vampires joined the humans. He helped them kill us and gave them all our secrets. The elves, whom were now demons and had been our allies killed humans, but they had been changed and killed us alike. Some demons though, remembered we were once allies. Some just had a truce with us. Some became loyal vassals to us. We also saved some demons from the armies of humans. They were thankful. The fire cat was one of them. A family of the fire cats vowed to serve us forever and that their children would do the same. Most fire cats are gone now too. However most fire cats alive descended form the ones who vowed to serve us and they still have their blood to remind them that we are their masters. Kirara here knows she must serve me. She would kill Sango in an instant if I asked her too. Her kind made a blood pledge to do so. We are their only true masters."

I was a bit surprised. She had told me the history of the demon and human world in Japan.

"You mean that the first races were elves and Vampire, and the elves became demons and the humans are from another land."

She nodded.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Our history is passed down in our blood. When I was born I gained the memories. My mind instantly remembered them."

I was amazed. I had found out my history and that of the other species. I had learned about vampires, also learning about Kagome. I smiled at her. She smiled back.

"Shall we go see Inuyasha and them my dear?" I asked.

She smiled brightly and took my extended hand.

"Bring Kanna."

I nodded and called her. I was curious to why she wanted to bring her but I knew she had a reason. Kanna walked in and we all took off.

Sesshomaru's POV:

A-un, Rin, Jaken, and I stayed with Inuyasha's group. We had nowhere else to go and I knew the miko would visit soon. I wished to question her thoroughly. We were all sitting currently down for lunch. I stayed standing watching everyone. They all seemed normal, like one of their own wasn't even missing. I scowled. If Kagome didn't have anything to do with this then I would swallow my Tokijin whole. I slowly sat down finally. A second later I was up with my hand resting on Tokijin's hilt. I saw the cloud of purple miasma coming at us. It touched down and cleared revealing Kanna, Naraku, the fire cat and the miko. I looked at the miko closely. She was wearing a black fighting kimono but she was no longer human. She had four fangs, claws, longer, blacker hair, and her eyes were red like Naraku's. She was grinning and standing close to Naraku. Kagome smiled at them.

"Who are you?" Inuyasha asked her.

She grinned.

"It's nice to see my spell is working." She said cheerfully.

My eyes narrowed. She had said spell. Rin was standing behind Jaken and A-un and I stood in front of them. No danger would reach her easily. I pulled Tokijin free. Kagome was a threat. She was strong; as strong as me at least. I felt it and was shocked. She grinned at us. Inuyasha had Tetsiaga drawn and lunged. Suddenly he froze. He stopped and looked a bit surprised. He tried to lunge again and was frozen at Kagome's voice.

"Do not draw your fang on me Hanyou." She said coldly. "Have you forgotten the pledge in your blood?" She snarled the last part.

'What pledge?' I wondered. I had had enough though. Naraku was right there. I jumped and when I came with in ten feet of Kagome I stopped and dropped my sword. I looked at the sword. It had felt as if it was burning. I scowled and summoned my whip. But it wouldn't come. My hand just burst into pain. I winced.

"Have you forgotten? You pledged to never draw a weapon on me or my family. You pledged to never fight me or my family on pain of death." She said blankly.

"I never pledged anything." I hissed.

"No you yourself did not. But your ancestors are another matter. 'We pledge on our lives, on our kind, on our blood. We pledge to never draw a weapon on you, fight you, or disobey you under pain of death and extinction.'"

Her voice had seemed distant almost as if it weren't her voice. Suddenly I pulsed. The same thing she had said echoed in my head. My body wouldn't let me near her. I fell back. Suddenly she smiled.

"Let me remove that spell now."

She snapped and Miroku, Kikyo, Sango, Shippo, and Inuyasha dropped to the ground unconscious. I blinked. We all stood waiting. About five minutes later they all sat up and groaned clutching their heads.

"I had the worst dream." The slayer started.

"Yeah." The others agreed.

"I had ignored Kagome and abandoned Kirara."

The others eyes widened.

"I had the same dream." They all chorused.

Suddenly they saw Naraku. They sprang up and grabbed their weapons. Inuyasha spotted Kagome.

"You bastard, give Kagome back." Inuyasha yelled.

Kagome and Naraku smirked.

"He didn't kidnap her." I said.

All their heads whipped towards me.

"What?" Sango asked.

"You did not dream that." I continued.

Their eyes widened.

"You're lying. We would never ignore Kagome like in our dream!" Sango said.

I was silent.

"I will explain." Kagome sang.

We all spun to her.

"You see I am not human."

The others gaped.

"I'm a royal vampire."

Now I gaped at the others looked confused.

"A-a royal vampire." I stuttered.

Inuyasha and the others eyes widened at me as I stuttered.

"I thought they were extinct." I whispered.

"I'm the last." Kagome said.

"What is a royal vampire?" Jaken asked.

I had been educated in the history of Japan and such so I knew all about the story.

"Royal vampires are…"

I quickly explained all I knew about them. When I was finished they were all gaping.

"So you are a royal vampire." I said.

She grinned.

"Yes."

I grit my teeth and clenched my hands before going down on one knee. Everyone was starring horror stricken at me. Even Naraku and Kanna looked surprised.

"I am sorry I raised a weapon against you."

She grinned even more.

"What?" Inuyasha asked.

"As I told you she saved some demons and they promised to be loyal and serve the royal vampires. Our ancestors made that pledge." I said between clenched teeth.

Inuyasha slowly got down on one knee too. He understood the punishment for breaking a blood oath; it was pain. Unbearable pain, that would make you wish you were dead. You would experience the pain for years then you would die, but you would not go to the underworld, your soul would be destroyed. And all of our kind would also die since their leader had betrayed the oath. Usually just the family of the one who betrayed the oath would die but since I was the ruler all the inu were considered my 'children'.

"Now come away from Naraku, Kagome." Inuyasha said.

She pouted slightly and wrapped her arms around his waist hugging him tight.

"No. I'm staying with him."

Her friends all gaped.

"But…" Miroku started.

"You all forgot about me, I'm not your friend."

"But we were under a spell." Sango said.

Kagome snickered.

"'But we were under a spell.' That spell can not make you forget me completely. What happens is 'I' place a sign on 'me' in your mind that says forget about me. If you are a true friend, that sign doesn't influence you at all."

Their eyes widened.

"You don't even have to be friends. You only have to have a mutual agreement between us. Take Sesshomaru for instance. We aren't friends we just know each other but he didn't forget me. If you didn't remember me then our friendship is worse then mine and Sesshomaru's."

The slayer fell to her knees starring. Inuyasha choked, Miroku looked horror stricken, Kikyo looked shocked, and Shippo was crying.

"Kirara…" Sango said when the small fire cat jumped down and transformed growling.

"Why did you make me forget her?" Sango asked.

"I didn't." Kagome said.

They all looked at her.

"When I cast the spell that made you forget me there is one side affect. You're attention can't be left to wander so if you have an attachment to anyone at the time your attention is caught by them. They are all you can think about no one else has any room in your mind. Kikyo and Inuyasha have one another, Sango and Miroku have one another, and at the time Shippo was close to Sango."

"Why?" The slayer sobbed.

"Because I hate you all when you think I'm weak and need to be protected every second. I hate it when you think I'm a child and I can't look after myself."

"But why did Kirara go to you. She must have seen I was under a spell."

"She knew but she also saw you were too weak to break the small spell that even Jaken broke. Besides her ancestors even gave me a blood pledged. She is expected to serve me for ever. I order her to kill you she will."

"Please Kagome." The slayer sobbed.

Shippo was crying too and Rin was trying to comfort him. The monk was looking defeated and holding the sobbing Sango. Kikyo was looking off into space. Inuyasha's ears were flat against his head and his eyes held deep sadness. Jaken was watching Rin while his eyes danced off and on Kagome as if trying to figure her out. A-un, surprisingly, was whimpering slightly at me. I turned to him.

"Certain dragon species also swore to us. I'm guessing that he has at least part of their blood in him." Kagome said.

I looked at my dragon, which wasn't looking at me. I sighed and fought the urge to pinch the bridge of my nose. If Kagome stayed with Naraku, neither Inuyasha, A-un, or I could come close, and the slayer wouldn't fight because of her brother and fire cat. That left only Jaken, the kit, and the monk, not good odds. I looked back and saw Naraku grinning. Inuyasha took some steps forwards. He held out one hand and looked Kagome in the eye.

"Come over to us Kagome. If he's threatened you we will protect you."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. Then she reached up and whispered something in Naraku's ears. He grinned even wider.

"No Inuyasha, I'm not coming back and besides he hasn't threatened me."

"Then why are you with him he is your enemy." Sango said.

"Wrong. He is your enemy. He never did anything to me. We have no quarrel."

"What about your family Kagome?" Inuyasha asked.

"They are dead."

Her friends gasped.

"My grandfather died of old age. And my mother was murdered. Souta watched her get killed and was distraught. I wiped all his memories so he could have a new easier life."

Sango was breathing hard.

"Don't join him Kagome. You will have to fight us if you do."

Kagome grinned and clapped her hands.

"Goody. I can't wait to slice your head off."

Sango looked like she had been slapped. Then she fell back in a dead faint. Suddenly the bushes rustled and Koga stepped out. He was looking crestfallen.

"I'm glad you heard it all, so I don't have to repeat myself." Kagome smiled.

"Why?" He asked sadly.

"I was wondering when someone would ask." Naraku cackled.

"I joined because I love him." Kagome said.

Then he reached down and kissed her. She kissed him back. We all gaped. The slayer who had just woke up looked about to faint again.

"He's just using you Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled.

Kagome sighed.

"No he's not. He hasn't asked me to do anything and why would he use me?"

"To get close to us."

"And why would he want to? I just made you all forget me and he didn't even know I was a royal vampire till a few minutes ago. And finally I could win if I fought him." Kagome said sighing.

Everyone seemed to be trying to find some words.

"Would you like to see some of the times you forgot me."

Kanna stepped forwards and her mirror flashed. There were them leaving her behind in the morning, them leaving her at the village, them talking about their journeys as if she hadn't been there, and many other times. At each time the other all fell deeper into despair. Suddenly the mirror turned off. They all seemed to snap to attention.

"If you choose to fight I will not take your blood oath into account." Kagome said.

We all stood and pulled our weapons out. The slayer lifted her boomerang and released it through the air. She shut her eyes tears streaming down her face. The boomerang headed straight for Naraku and Kagome who were still in one another arms. The boomerang hit a barrier and flew back. Inuyasha unleashed a wind scar. Naraku's barrier wavered but was strengthened by pink miko powers. Kikyo shot her bow which went through both barriers. Kagome lifted her hand and plucked the arrow right out of the air, disintegrating it with her miko powers. I pulled my Tokijin free and lunged. Kagome sighed and gave Naraku a kiss on the cheek before lunging back. I sighed and shot after the miko. None of the others would fight her at their fullest, only I would. I sighed and swiped with my Tokijin. Kagome pulled out a knife and dodged my blade. Then she lunged in. I jumped back, just in time to avoid a fatal blow to my throat. Still the knife sliced it a bit. A bead of blood ran down the knife. Kagome licked it off and grinned.

"Your blood is very tasty. You are powerful, handsome, a virgin, and of noble blood; the perfect combination." She purred.

I shivered slightly. If she caught me I knew what would happen; she'd suck me dry. I shot forwards again. Kagome brought her knife up. She frowned as my sword sliced through it like a hot knife through butter. She opened her mouth to say something but didn't finish as Tokijin decapitated her. I heard her friends gasp. I saw Naraku's eye take in unfiltered fury and narrow dangerously. I felt no regret. I turned away and headed for Naraku but was stopped before I took a step.

"Now that wasn't nice... I liked that knife!"

My eyes widened and I slowly turned around. Everyone else was gaping. Kagome's body was standing up and feeling around. Kagome's head was sitting upright. Her face still held a frown.

"Over here you dumb body." She said.

I starred and felt a little horrified. The body stood up walked over slowly to the head. It picked it up and placed it back on. I gaped even more as the skin around her neck fused together. Kagome then rolled her neck as if getting the crick out. She looked at the hilt in her hand and tossed it away. I was still gaping, along with everyone else and Naraku. Suddenly Kagome walked past me and to Naraku. I was still frozen. She hugged him, effectively waking him from his shock. He signalled Kanna and Kirara over and they all flew off. After a few minutes I moved.

"That didn't happen." The slayer mumbled.

"It did." I said. "I felt my sword slice through her skin."

The others all went to comfort their partners. I walked to the fox and Rin. The fox had been effectively covering Rin's eyes. I picked him up and gently tossed him to the others. Then I picked Rin up, who hadn't seen anything, and placed her on A-un. I also threw Jaken on behind her. Then the dragon and I rose into the sky.

Naraku's POV:

I watched Kagome carefully as we flew back to the castle. She rolled her neck as if trying to get used to it.

"I hate having my head cut off." She mumbled.

"I would too." I said.

She smiled at me. It was very tempting and I gave into my feelings. I reached down kissing her deeply. My one hand held he neck deepening the kiss, and on hand held her waist. Both her hands combed through my wavy black hair. When we broke the kiss, gasping for air, we had reached the castle. We dropped down and walked inside. The sun was already setting. Kanna disappeared and we walked on.

"Do you need to eat?" I asked.

"I do need blood often, and I can eat. If I eat then I don't need as much blood."

I nodded.

"Where will you get blood?"

"Human or demon."

"No animals?"

"I can drink animal blood but it isn't that good and not filling. The best blood is that of strong demons. Virgins are good to since they have not been tainted. If the person has a birth defect they taste horrible too."

"So when do you need it?"

"Soon, I'll go out tomorrow."

I nodded. We both headed for our rooms. We split at Kagome's and I headed for my own. I walked in and sighed. I sat at my desk and looked at some maps I had. With Kagome, getting the last few shards from the wolf and Kikyo would be easy. I fell into my thoughts, mostly about Kagome, as I looked out my window at the sinking sun. When the sun had finally sunk below the horizon I stood and walked out my door. I softly knocked on Kagome's door. Suddenly the door opened. Kagome blinked at me and then opened the door all the way. She was wearing a white sleeping Kimono. The moonlight from her window fell on her. I looked her up and down and grinned.

"You look wonderful, my love." I whispered.

She blushed, and then hung her head so her bangs covered her face.

"Thanks."

I put my hand under her chin and made her look at me. I smiled at her and she smiled back.

"May I come in?" I asked.

She smiled and let me walk in. She shut the door behind me. I sat on the edge of her bed and looked out her window. She sat beside me and waited.

"Tomorrow we will go try and get the other jewel shards."

Kagome smiled radiantly. I leaned over and kissed her softly. When she returned the kiss I deepened it. I nudged her bottom lip, demanding entry. She replied by opening her mouth slightly. My tongue slipped in and explored her sweet cavern once again. I pushed down and she fell against her bed. I rolled on top of her and slipped both my hands under her. One grasped her lower back, and the other tangled in her hair. I pulled her close. She wrapped both her arms around my neck and moaned in pleasure. I broke the kiss for air and pulled her head back by her hair. I kissed down her neck. I slipped one arm out and started to untie her kimono. When it was open I kissed each breast. Then I returned to her mouth. When the second heated kiss was done I kissed her neck again. I bit her ear producing a low moan. Then I froze. I pulled back and let her go.

"Not yet." I mumbled. "Soon."

Then I walked out of the room.

Kagome's POV:

I wondered why Naraku had pulled back but decided it was for a good reason. He had loved that, as much as me. He had said soon, so I closed my kimono and slipped under my covers. 'I've fallen for him hard.' I told myself. I sighed happily as the blanket of night wrapped around me.

.--.

I woke up to someone opening my bedroom door. I sat up and looked at Kagura. She blinked at me, and snapped her fan open covering the bottom half of her face.

"We are leaving in half an hour."

I nodded and jumped from my bed. I headed for my wardrobe and pulled it open. I pulled a black fighting Kimono and a red obi. I picked up my black cloak and tied it on leaving the hood down. Then I walked out the room door. I saw Kagura waiting for me at the end of the hall. I walked up to her and followed her down the halls. I noticed she glanced at me every once in a while.

"Yes?" I asked finally.

"What are you?" She asked.

"If you ask Kanna she will show you what we did when we left yesterday."

Suddenly we rounded a corner and came upon Kanna and Naraku. Kagura walked up and stood next to Kanna.

"First we will stop somewhere to get you something to eat." Naraku said.

"Then could we stop somewhere I know? I need to get something."

He nodded. Kagura threw a feather into the air and her and Kanna jumped on, floating into the sky. I already saw Kanna's mirror on. Naraku held out a hand. I grinned. I took his hand and we flew up into the sky. We flew for an hour before we touched down and started to walk. We soon came upon a traveler. He was about forty and looked weary. I smiled and slipped ahead to meet him. I soon lured him into the trees. He didn't suspect a thing. Then I sunk my teeth into his wrist. Many thought we bit the neck but we just bit were ever we could get the most blood. The wrist and the neck were the best places. In about five minutes I had completely drained him of any blood. I used my miko powers and disintegrated the body. I washed the blood off and walked back to the others.

Kagura's POV:

Kagome lured the man into the woods and I wondered what was up. I was still watching Kanna's mirror. I gaped as it explained she was a Royal Vampire. When she had had her head lopped off I also starred. Finally the mirror turned off and Kagome walked form the bush.

"The body?" Naraku asked.

"Nothing left." Kagome grinned.

I saw some blood dripping off her fangs. I shivered slightly. Kagome grinned at me.

"Better be good Kagura. If you're not I'm always thirsty for good blood."

I inched away and Naraku grinned. Then we took off once more with Kagome leading. We traveled for an hour before we stopped. We were in front of a large cave. We walked in and we followed Kagome. She led us through many winding tunnels. Suddenly she stopped and laughed. She walked into a small cavern. I blinked. The back was lined with coffins. Above them on the wall was a sword. It seemed to be hanging in midair. Kagome laughed again and stepped forwards. She jumped up and grasped the swords hilt. She fell back to the ground with it in hand.

"Only royal vampires can old the sword with out having their blood drained from them. It's made of the bones of demons, which are sworn to us."

She grinned again. Then we headed back through the tunnels. When we emerged I realized something was in the wind. I looked around. Kagome then frowned and looked towards the lake that was next to the cave. A large water dragon shot out.

"YOU KILLED MY MATE!" It howled.

I looked at Kagome.

"I'm guessing the last Royal Vampire tried out his new sword on the closest demon. Dragons can really hold a grudge."

The dragon shot down at her. Kagome sighed and slashed with hr sword.

"Sonic wave!" She yelled.

Suddenly large waves of sound shot from the blade. I covered my ears. Even though the attack wasn't aimed at me it felt like the sound was ripping me apart. Suddenly the dragon howled and in a burst of pieces while blood sprayed everywhere. Kagome grinned. I noticed that the fire cat had transformed. Kagome slide the sword into her obi and got on the fire cat.


	9. After The Jewel Part 1 : Crossover

Hiei and Kagome

Kagome's POV:

I was running silently over the forest floor. The moss and leaves crunched softly under my feet. I could see only the faint movements of my enemies. They were on each side of me and one was above me. I cursed all demons with camouflage abilities. I need to get in a clearing or somewhere open so they wouldn't have much if anything to camouflage with. In the trees it was impossible to fight them because they blended in with everything. I was quick though and my reflexes good so I was fine for now. I sighed and kept running as I slipped into my memories.

~~FLASHBACK~~

We jumped for joy. Naraku was dead. I calmed a little and looked around. We were outside the ruins of the slayer village. It was ironic that the very place Naraku had destroyed was his grave. We had fought long and hard and now he was dead. Sango was the only one not wearing at least small smile. She was holding her dead brother in her arms. She wasn't crying but looked like it was the end of the world. Kohaku had turned on Naraku at the last moment. He said he had remembered everything. Because of his help we had won, but not before Naraku killed him. Miroku was comforting his fiancé, along with Kirara. Shippo was chasing bugs and eating a chocolate bar. Koga and his two companions were sitting in the shade talking among them selves.

Sesshomaru, Jaken, A-un, and the teenage Rin were standing beneath the trees. Rin was laughing, Jaken was even smiling, and Sesshomaru looked blank but kept his eyes on Rin. Inuyasha was gazing off at nothing. He had a look that said Kikyo. She had also died in the battle. I walked away from the group and grabbed the tainted jewel. In seconds it had purified. I grabbed my shards and those of Koga`s and put them in my hand. Everyone looked up as it flashed pink. When the glow faded, I had the whole Shikon No Tama in my hand. Everyone starred as in a flash of white a spirit appeared. Everyone came closer as the spirit of Midoriko stepped forwards. She smiled at everyone.

``You killed him, now you have the jewel. I wish to tell you that the Shikon No Tama only has one set of wishes left. After you use it, it will cease to exist. No matter if the wish is selfless of selfish. One good thing though is everyone here gets a wish."

Everyone cheered at this. Midoriko laughed softly.

``You have earned every wish you get. Now I must go."

She jumped back and faded away leaving only a memory and a soft drifting laugh. I handed the jewel to Sango and she took it and quickly whispered something. Suddenly Kohaku sat up and blinked. Sango lunged at him tears of joy streaming down her face. Miroku grabbed the jewel before it hit the ground. He wished to have his wind tunnel back, but one that wouldn't eventually kill him. Then Shippo grabbed it his eyes sparkling. He whispered something and suddenly in a blue flame a fox demon that looked like him appeared. He lunged at the man yelling `Father`. Then Kirara trotted to the dropped jewel. She touched it with her nose and mewed. Suddenly a bunch of people appeared. Sango and Kohaku cried out and lunged for a man. I found out it was their entire village.

I smiled and gave the jewel to Koga. He wished for the same power he had had when he had had the jewel fragments. His two right hand men also wished for enhanced speed to keep up with him with. Then I tossed the jewel to Jaken who caught it. He wished for a more strength too. His staff got an extra attack; a blast of ice to freeze enemies. Then Rin picked up the jewel. She glanced at Sesshomaru before wishing to be a demon. The, now fifteen year old, girl grew fangs, claws, purple stripes, and pointy ears. Her hair also grew longer and her eyes turned amber. No one but Inuyasha and I saw the next action of the girl. She lunged at Sesshomaru and wrapped her arms around his neck kissing him deeply. Sesshomaru`s eyes opened wide. Then he grabbed her waist dipping her and kissing back.

I smiled and silently congratulated them. Inuyasha was starring at them with a look of absolute horror and shock. I smiled and waited till they finished. When they broke for air Rin was grinning like mad. Sesshomaru was smiling brightly witch scared me a little. He then used the jewel to bring Kagura and Kanna back to life and get himself his arm back. The two had died in the fight but they had also turned on Naraku and we had found out they hated him too but had been bound to him. Kagura and Kanna both thanked him when they heard what he had done. He ignored them and kissed Rin again. Rin and Sesshomaru had started to make-out which the others now saw.

Both Kagura and Kanna starred at them with mouth's hanging open before Kagura grabbed a feather and they took off. Miroku whistled and the rest ignored the new couple. Then Inuyasha grabbed the jewel. He looked at me sadly. His ears quivered. He turned away and made his wish. Kikyo had appeared but she was now a half demon. She had soft small black cat ears and claws and fangs. Inuyasha had hugged her tightly. Now everyone was watching us closely. Even Rin and Sesshomaru had stopped making out to watch. When Inuyasha let go of Kikyo he turned to me looking a bit ashamed. I stepped up to him and I saw him tense. I wrapped my arms around him in a hug which he nervously returned. I put my mouth near his ear.

"I wish you happiness my friend."

He had sighed with relief and whispered an apology. I gave Kikyo a hug to and told her the same thing. She seemed to have lost her bitterness. She thanked me and then kissed Inuyasha. I looked back at everyone else. The slayers except Sango had headed into the village. Sesshomaru, Rin, Jaken, and A-un waved at us before running off into the trees. Koga ran up to me and put his hands around mine.

"Kagome, I'm going to marry Ayame. I promised and if I marry her our clans will have peace."

"I wish you a happy marriage."

He smiled gratefully at me and took off with the other two. Then Inuyasha and Kikyo hugged me again and we said our final farewells. I cried softly and waved as they leapt into the trees. Then Shippo leaped into my arms. I hugged him and he cried softly. I also felt tears slide down my face. His father walked up to me with a smile. He bowed.

"Thank you for caring for him."

"It was a pleasure to look after him. You have a wonderful son."

"I know."

I handed a sobbing Shippo to him and wiped my tears away. The two walked off and I waved a farewell. Miroku and Sango then walked up to me.

"Are you going home now?"

"Yes. I've been gone for four years, with the occasional visit."

"Come back sometime if you can."

"I will."

"Do you want Kirara to take you to the well?"

"No. I will walk. I am capable of taking care of myself."

I gave them each a hug and the monk a slap when his hand went lower then necessary. Then they waved and headed into their village. I swallowed tears and grabbed my back pack heading off into the bush. Over the years I had learned the bow and my miko powers to perfection. Sango had taught me how to wield a knife and dagger, and I knew a little about the sword. Miroku had also taught me how to use a staff. Now I had a foot long knife and a dagger at my waist, with a bow and quiver of arrows with my backpack. I didn't have a staff or sword but I could always use a large branch. They had also taught me hand to hand combat.

I still hadn't made my wish but I had one in mind. The only problem was that if I made the wish it would change my life. I had to think about it for a while. So I put the jewel away and headed off for home. When I finally reached the dry well I quickly jumped in. I walked to my house and headed upstairs. I usually yelled I was home but right now I was deep in thought. I quickly changed and changed my clothes. Then I grabbed my purse and headed off. I decided to make my wish, but first there were a few things I wanted to get and a few things I had to do.

I headed out of the house. But first I found my mom and said hi and told her where I was going. Then I found my brother he asked to come with me and I shrugged. The two of us headed out the door and headed for the first store. We talked and I told my brother what had happened. Then I told him my plan. He was sad but he agreed not to tell till I did. I thanked him and we continued on. We quickly shot through three stores and headed off to another one. My brother asked about seeing my friends. I hadn't seen them in three years. I had quite high school cause it was to troublesome.

Grandpa had told them I had moved so I hadn't bothered to visit them. I told my brother and he shrugged. My brother stayed close to me as we walked into a sketchy part of town. I walked past abandoned buildings and alley ways. When I finally reached the store I wanted I walked in. My brother clutched the back of my shirt and followed. We were silently greeted by a large man with black hair and blue eyes. He smiled crookedly at us.

"How may I help you?"

"Do you have any long knives?"

His mouth twitched in amusement.

"A gift?"

"For myself."

He laughed but quickly turned and headed into the back. I looked around. There were swords on the walls, with axes, spears, and staffs. It was the only store I knew off that sold weapons with out questions and suspicion. I walked to a wall and pulled a staff that could fold in on itself so it was only two feet long. I put it on the counter and waited. The man came back a minute later with a couple of boxes. He opened the first and showed a four foot long knife. It was very delicate looking and as thin as paper. It would most likely break as soon as it met another blade.

I scowled and looked through some more boxes. Finally I picked a two foot long knife. The end was slightly curved and it wasn't too bulky. I also picked a half a foot long dagger. It was pretty but deadly. I paid the man for the blades and foldable staff them I quickly put them in my bag and pulled my brother out. The man counted my money and told us to come again. I pulled my brother down the street to an open part. I stopped and faced eight men who walked up. They all wore lopsided grins and fingered knives. I set my bags down and pushed Souta behind my back. He quickly took a step back. I pulled out my folded up staff and waited. One laughed as he stepped forwards.

"Hey babe, want to have some fun?"

"No."

"Well to bad. Hey guys kill the boy, and take all valuables and money. I'll deal with the broad. I'll 'persuade' her to join us at my place."

The men laughed and popped pocket knives open. I watched calmly. The first ran at me. I waited.

"Sis..." Souta said.

The man was practically on top of me. I spun popping the staff out and nailing the man in the stomach. He flew back past his friends and hit a wall. His friends starred at him then turned to me. They quickly surrounded me and I grinned.

"Hit the ground." I whispered to Souta.

He laid flat on the ground and covered his head. The men leaped and I spun. I hit three men into walls or sent them flying. One man nicked me with his knife, and another hit me on the head with the butt of his knife. Everything flickered but I stayed conscious. Souta rolled away as a man lunged for him. He quickly stood up and ran towards me. I ran at him. I saw a man easily grab him. I called out and lunged but a felt pain in the back of my head then everything blurred and I was on the ground. I took a ragged breath. I heard my name in the distant. Then everything faded.

--

I opened my eyes with a groan. My head was pounding. 'Stupid and careless.' I told myself. I could easily beat that many people. But I had left myself wide open when jumping to Souta. I should have thrown my dagger not ignore the others and run for him. I looked up at a ceiling fan. I blinked and then remembered what happened. I sat up and was immediately pulled back down. My hands were bound above my head with a rope that was also tied to a bed post. My legs were free but useless. Suddenly a door opened. I looked to the side to see the man come in dragging a fighting Souta. I quickly closed my eyes and pretended to be unconscious. I looked through my lashes though. The man threw Souta against a wall. I saw my bags beside Souta. The man walked over to me and slapped me hard. I opened my eyes and glared at him.

"I kept the boy alive. If you so much as twitch the wrong way I'll kill'em. Well then wench, let's have some fun."

He pulled a knife free and cut my shirt. I gasped. I glanced at my brother who was sneakily rooting through my bag. I saw him slip the dagger behind his back. I smirked at the man who was now on top of me. He scowled. I set a blast of my miko powers to the rope. They disintegrated. Then I kneed him in the crotch and rolled of the bed. I then hit the pressure point on his neck and he fell unconscious. I ran to my brother. He had the rope off his hands and my bag on his back. He smiled at me then closed his eyes. I blinked and realized I was half naked. I saw a dresser and pulled out a shirt. I pulled it on before dragging my brother down a flight of stairs. I knocked two people out on the way. We fell into a living room and blinked at the fifteen men in the large room. I saw my staff in the corner I dived for it. I came up and whipped it out. I quickly knocked ten of the men out. Then I broke bones of the last five. Suddenly I heard a cry. I turned and froze. An extra man had a knife against my brother's throat.

"Drop the weapon, bitch."

I glared but dropped the staff. In a flash I yanked my knife my free and hurled it at the man. His shoulder was pinned to the wall. He screamed and dropped his knife reaching to pull the knife out. My brother slipped around him and then whipped my dagger he still had at me. I froze. The dagger went past me and embedded in the hand of a man sneaking up on me. I gasped and starred at my brother.

"When did you learn that?"

"Inuyasha taught me once when you were at school."

Then I grabbed my dagger and knife and turned to the two men. They were both on the floor clutching their wounds. The whimpered and grovelled.

"Don't kill us please. We were just following our bosses orders." They cried.

I ignored there begs and advanced on them. They started to sob. I slammed the butt of my knife on their heads knocking them out cold. Then I grabbed my bags. I rooted through pockets and took the money and stuff they had gotten from me, and no more. I grabbed a cell phone and checked the address of the place. I phoned the police and told them about some thieves and murders in the house. Then I threw the phone in a mug of beer, so the police couldn't trace me with the phone and so the beer would destroy my finger prints. Then I pulled my brother out the door. We trotted down the street and didn't stop till we were on a busy street. We headed for home quickly. When we reached our front door I glanced at my brother.

"Not a word to mom."

"Yeah, I know. She'd freak."

We stepped in. I hid my weapons and slipped up the stairs. I quickly grabbed a small blue backpack I had gotten. I stuffed a warm but plain coat in it, plain clothes, personal hygiene stuff, a first aid kit, some flint, a small coffee pot, a pan and pot, a bowl, some chopsticks, money from the other era I had got, and some small snacks. I set a pair of clothes, the sacred jewel, and my weapons on my desk for the next day. Then I slowly descended the stairs. I sat at the table and we all ate dinner. Then I helped clean up. I had a quick shower before I hopped into bed. In the morning I woke early and got ready. When I came to breakfast I was ready to go. My mom and grandpa stared at me as I ate. I was wearing a pair of brown cotton pants with a white shirt. I had my bag beside me and I had my weapons strapped on, which included my dagger and knife, my staff, and two small daggers Sango had given me long ago. When I was finished I stood up.

"Mom, Grandpa. I'm going back through the well. I'm going to stay there."

My mom and grandpa gasped.

"I'm going to use the sacred jewel to become a demon. If I live for the next five hundred years then I will see you again, but if not then...well, we'll have to wait and see."

My mom jumped up and hugged me tight.

"When will I see my girl again?"

"If I survive then very soon for you, if not then I won't see you again."

My mom hugged me to death and cried. My grandfather dabbed his eyes and Souta looked down at the floor. Finally I gave grandpa and Souta a hug. Then I grabbed my stuff and headed out. I waved once before disappearing in the well.

~~END OF FLASH BACK~~

I jumped a log and kept running. When I had appeared again I had used the jewel and became a demon. Now I had longer hair which I kept in a ponytail. I had claws and fangs. I still had brown eyes and now my ears are pointy. All my senses had enhanced and I could run faster and farther, jump higher, and was stronger. I liked being a demon. The well had sealed, as I had guessed, when I made the wish. All I had to do was survive five hundred years to see my family again. That was all fifteen years ago. I had visited the others but always wrapped myself in an illusion so that I looked like I would if I were still human. So everything appeared normal.

Sango and Miroku had gotten married, and now had a daughter named Kagome, thirteen, and two twin sons, named Sei and Rei, nine. They had rebuilt their village and it was prospering. Kagura and Kanna were seen every once and a while, but not often. Kikyo and Inuyasha had also wed and had two children. One boy named Miroku who was a ladies' man now at fourteen, and a girl named Midoriko, eleven. The children were half demons but the only demon looks were small dog ears, claws, and fangs. Shippo had gone through a growth spurt and was now taller than me. He and his father were also well and Shippo was courting another fox demoness. Rin and Sesshomaru had married and had a son named Inutaisho. Jaken stayed with them in the west and still scowled and rambled on. Everything was going fine and everyone was happy. I sighed and kept running as I fell from my memories, dodging branches and such. Suddenly I broke into a clearing. I whipped around and pulled my two long knives out. The three lizard demons stepped from the trees and hissed.

"Bring it on." I whispered.

They lunged at me.

--

I kicked the last body out of my way. I sighed and swiped the blood from my blades. I yawned and decided to find a place to stay for the night. I was going to search when I heard an explosion. I looked to the north to see a cloud of smoke rising from the trees. I sighed and shot off jumping from branch to branch. After a few minutes I reached a circle of charred trees. I saw scorched marks everywhere. One tree had literally exploded. The sap had heated and burst spreading giant dangerous splinters around. If anyone had been hit by them they would become a pin cushion. I scanned the area quickly.

There were three bodies burnt to a crisp and I couldn't tell if they were human or demon. There was a forth demon that had two giant splinters in his back, poking right through him. He was another lizard demon and couldn't use fire. I sighed and started to look for whom or what did this. I found a trail of blood leading into the trees and hurried off following me. I knew there was a village nearby and if he attacked the village, the people would be in trouble. I found the demon in five minutes. He was leaning against a tree.

He had black spiky hair with a streak of white. He had a black cloak and was short. He had a sword at his hip and his breathing was ragged. He was unconscious and had a splinter in his arm. I bent down by him and examined him with my miko powers. When I had become a demon I had kept my miko powers and learned to use them better. I found out the demon wasn't that tainted, and had three broken ribs, a broken hand and a broken bone in his leg. He also had some poison in him from the lizard demon. I found out, with a quick analysis of my miko power, that he was a fire demon. He also was strong but young.

I sighed. 'He isn't tainted so he must be relatively good, and I sense no bloodlust in him.' I sighed again and gently picked him up. We couldn't stay here. The explosion and faint smell of blood would draw other demons. I quickly shot through the trees towards the sound of water. The demon in my hands was light. Too light and I wondered when he had, had a decent meal. I sighed. I soon found a small river and a waterfall. I touched the ground and set the demon on a bed of moss. I used my power and set up a barrier that would keep those I didn't want close, away. I quickly healed the demon and left him against the tree.

The sun was already setting. I sighed and used my miko power to make sure the demon would stay asleep at least till morning. Then I shot off once again through the trees. I soon reached the small village. They knew me and their miko welcomed me. I explained about the explosion. Then I asked for some supplies. They happily trotted off to get me the stuff I had asked for. I gave them money but they refused I had to force them to take it. I had saved them all once from a large group of lizard demons, and then exterminated most of the ones in the forest. They thought they owed me. In the end I got them to accept a little money. Finally I got away. I headed back for my camp. I touched down in the clearing and sighed. It was well past sun down. I set the stuff on the ground along with my pack. I pulled my cloak from my pack and sat beside the spiky haired demon. I laid my cloak over us both and leaned against the tree. I soon drifted off as the comforting blanket of sleep wrapped around me.

--

I woke with the sun and groaned. I stood and stretched. I glanced at the demon. He was sleeping soundly and looked peaceful. I laid the cloak back on him and stripped before jumping into the pool at the base of the waterfall.

I groaned and laid still. I felt comfortable. I was warm. Then it hit me and I sat up quickly. The last thing I remembered was fighting the demons. Then I had dragged myself away from the battle ground. I remembered falling in to darkness after leaning against a tree. I looked down at myself. I was surprised to find I was wrapped in a green cloak. I blinked as I realized nothing hurt. I knew I had broken bones and a splinter, from the tree I had exploded, had been in my arm.

I looked around cautiously. I was in a small clearing. There was a waterfall falling into a pool that led into a small river. I was leaning against a tree on a bed of moss. The birds were chirping happily. I noticed two bags on the ground near the waterfall. I saw a small fire with fish cooking over it. I had to pull my eyes away from the food. My stomach reminded me how hungry I was but I wanted to know what had happened first. I stood and the cloak fell off. I still had my sword and fire was ready to help me. I glanced around.

A woman came into view. She was quite pretty. She had long ebony hair in a ponytail. She had soft brown eyes, lips that begged to be kissed and a stubborn chin. She was wearing plain brown clothes but they showed every curve. She was thin but not too, and she was average height. She had small claws and fangs. At her waist were a long knife, three daggers, and a folded staff. She was carrying a handful of sticks. She spotted me and flashed me a soft, warm smile. I kept my face blank but watched her suspiciously. She set some more logs on the fire and sat next to it. She took some fish off the fire.

"Come on you must be hungry."

I was, very. I cautiously walked over to her and took the fish she held down. I sat across from her and quickly but politely ate the food. When I had finished the first bit she handed me more. She didn't question me just gave me food. I didn't care if it was poisoned I was hungry. When I finished she smiled at me.

"Who are you and why did you help me?" I asked quickly but calmly.

"My name is Kagome. I was once a human who became a demon using the Shikon No Tama. I helped you because you need the help and because I could."

"Thanks. My name is Hiei."

"You're welcome Hiei. "

Suddenly the woman stood and stretched. She grabbed one of the bags and tossed it too me.

"That's for you."

"Thanks."

"I'm sorry but I must be going."

"Nh."

"I hope I'll see you again sometime."

"Nh."

She smiled and grabbed the other bag. With a wave she leapt off into the trees. I waited till she was gone before I moved. 'Well that was a fast meeting and conversation.' I thought. Then I looked into the bag. It contained food, money, and other small items. I blinked then smiled. I stood up and filled a small canteen with water before heading off in the opposite direction.

For years I traveled around not doing much. I learned more fighting skills, I learned certain abilities I had, and I visited my friends. And… I was there for Sango and Miroku's funeral. They had died within a day of each other. It pained me deeply to watch the two being buried in their graves. But I held back tears till I was alone. Kohaku had become the leader of the slayer village, and he had married finally and had a daughter named after his sister.

It really pained me to see the girl who looked like her aunt, and their children who also looked like them. I would miss them deeply. Shippo had married the fox demoness. But three months after a stronger demon had killed her. Shippo had been sad but he slowly got over it. He didn't marry after that but he seemed happy. Inuyasha and Kikyo were also happy. Their children were growing quickly and they were happy too. The same for Rin and Sesshomaru. Most of my friends were still happy and alive, but Miroku and Sango's deaths affected me deeply.

After they passed on I didn't see the others unless from the shadows from where they couldn't see me. I missed the days we had traveled together. I knew that Sango and Miroku had to die sometime but it still hurt. They had been close friends and Sango had been like the sister I had never had, and Miroku had been like a big brother. Kohaku had told me that in their last days together they had been happy. I prayed for them and moved on. I would always remember them. Over the years I saw Hiei too. We became friends and often ran into each other. Sometimes these meetings were more embarrassing then happy. He had walked in one me naked in a river or spring more then once. But still we were great friends. I became a master spy and a master at stealth. For a long time I lived in the shadows.

After two hundred years I had left Japan. I had traveled the world. I traveled everywhere. I made friends, I lost some, and I had a long good life. I was happy. I saw new places, met new people and learned new things. As demons started to disappear I disguised myself as human. When I was close to my four hundredth birthday I opened a business. At first it was small, but then it grew huge. I made money and kept traveling. I bought the land of the old slayer village, which had miraculously stayed standing, and kept Miroku and Sango's graves untouched. Sango and Miroku's family members also were buried there including Kohaku, Kirara, and their children who had died there. I had also learned that Sango's bloodline was still alive and she had living people with her blood in them in Japan. I was happy and loved my life even the sad parts. Finally on my five hundred and nineteenth birthday, I returned to Japan.

--

I walked up the flight of stairs leading to the Higurashi shrine. 'Yesterday' had been the day I had gone to the past and became a demon. Finally time had caught up. I had wanted to come earlier but didn't want to disrupt time. I had watched from the shadows though as my family and 'my other self' prospered. Now I could visit them. I walked to the door and knocked. My brother answered the door and blinked.

"You're back already sis? I thought you planed to be gone for a long time."

I fell too my knees. I hugged him tightly as I cried. I had missed him so much. My mother had found me crying in my brother's shoulder as my brother looked confused and awkwardly patted me on the back. When I had finally calmed down they sat me in the kitchen and asked me what was wrong.

"I'm just so happy to see you. I missed you so much." I said tearfully.

They blinked.

"You've only been gone a day, honey." My mother said.

"To you it's been a day but for me I had to wait five hundred years."

My mother got a look of understanding on her face. I cried even harder now. After a half an hour grandpa came in too. Souta explained to him and they agreed to take things easy around me because to me I hadn't seen them in a long time even if to them it had only been a day. That night at dinner I babbled about my adventures. When I told them what company I owned they almost fainted. That night I sighed as I lay down in my old bed. It was comfy and I felt happier then I had in a long time.

--

The next morning I woke early and had a quick breakfast. I had a few things to do. First I had to go visit some people I hadn't seen in a couple of hundred years. I pulled my hair in a loose ponytail, and pulled on a pair grey business pants with a white shirt tucked in and a small grey jacket over that. It all fit nicely and I felt made for the suit. I didn't put any make up on but I pulled on some small black shoes though. When I was ready, my mother said I looked so business like. I smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek. My brother came running down the stairs mumbling about being late for school. I grinned at him.

"Hey Souta want a ride to school?" I asked.

"Do you even have a driver's licence?"

"I'm over five hundred years old of course I have one."

My mother waved goodbye as we ran down the shrine stairs. There was a garage at the bottom that was in the hill. I had parked my vehicle there last night. I opened the garage and my brother gasped and stared.

"That's you vehicle?"

"Yeah, got a problem with that?"

"No! That's awesome!"

I grabbed a helmet and pulled it on, tossing him an extra I had brought. He pulled it on quickly. I pulled the vehicle out of the garage. The sun bounced off my brand new red motorcycle. It was the latest design and I loved it. I started it and pulled my brother on behind me. We took off down the road as my brother laughed. When I stopped at his school he slid off and his friends gathered around him.

"Hey Souta I'll pick you up after school if I can, if I'm not here by the bell just head home."

"Kay, sis."

His friends gasped and started asking him about his biker sister. I just revved up and peeled out of the lot. I easily drove down the roads. When I finally reached my destination, I parked my bike and tore my helmet off. I straightened my hair and clothes. I walked into the doors of the huge building. I walked past guards and other people up to the front desk. A lady looked up.

"May I help you?"

"Yes, I would like to speak to Mr. Taisho."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but he'll see me."

"He's really busy at the moment. If you would like to make an appointment…"

"No. He will see me now. Just phone him and see." I said calmly.

She looked me over. Her eyes rested on my calm, commanding face, and she picked the phone up. She looked sceptical though.

"What is your name?"

"Tell him it's an old friend."

The woman blinked but dialled the phone.

Sesshomaru's POV:

I was sitting at my desk finishing my last paper when the phone rang. I picked it up quickly.

"Yes?"

"Sorry to disturb you Mr. Taisho. But there is a woman here insisting she would like to see you."

"What's her name?"

"She said to tell you she's an old friend."

I blinked.

"What does she look like?"

"She has long black hair and soft brown eyes..."

There was pause.

"She said to tell you that she has a proposition for you. Do you wish me to call the guards?"

"Don't call the guards, just send her up. I have time to meet her."

I hung the phone up and quickly put the papers away. I thought of the problems I need to see to after this meeting. For one I had to try and meet with the owner of Drywell Co. The owner was supposedly in town. It was a large company as large as mine. It owned a chain of five star hotels that were all over the world. It also owned a chain of clothes stores. They made custom designer clothes. It was a rival company to mine. Taisho Co. wasn't about to fall apart or anything and it wasn't about to be taken over or challenged by this company but I still wanted a meeting.

The reason I wanted to talk to the owner was because they owned a piece of land that had once held the slayer village, and my brother the vice president of Taisho Co. wanted to keep the place cause his friends had been buried there. I had tried to buy it before but been unsuccessful. I sighed as I waited for the woman to get here. After a few minutes I heard the elevator open. My office was on the top floor of the building and took up the whole floor. It was more of a small home then an office. I glanced to the elevator to see a woman walk out. I blinked at her. She looked familiar. She looked to be in her early twenties but she seemed serious about something. She wore appropriate clothes and I knew she was her for a reason other than to fawn over me. Even though I was married women still chased me as if I would change my mind about staying married. She stopped in front of my desk and looked around.

"No cameras?"

I blinked.

"No."

"Good. You don't have to wear that disguise around me Sesshomaru."

I blinked again. She had called me by my first name and sat down without an invite. Usually I would kill people or at least have them thrown from my building for that. She seemed really familiar though and I didn't know why. She sighed and looked around.

"Nice office. Is Rin around?"

"No."

I lifted my illusion so I looked like the demon lord of the West. She smiled softly almost sadly.

"It's nice to see you again. Is Inuyasha around? Do you know where he is?"

"How do you know my brother? And what do you mean 'see you again'?"

"Don't you remember me Sesshomaru?" She asked slyly with a smirk.

I blinked at her.

"It's me Kagome."

I let my calm façade slip and gaped slightly.

"But the last time I saw you, you were over fifty and we were at the slayer village."

"I'll explain but I only want to do it once so if Inuyasha is around could he come here?"

I nodded and picked up my phone. I dialled my brother's cell number and waited. We had worked out our differences out in last five hundred years and now worked together. The phone rang and after a couple of seconds I heard a click and Inuyasha's voice.

'What's up Sesshomaru?'

"I need you in my office. Now."

'Well that's easy. I'm already in the elevator.'

"Nh."

I hung up.

"He's already coming."

Immediately elevator dinged and opened. Inuyasha, Kikyo, Rin, and Shippo walked in. They saw me in demon form and also took off their illusions. They saw Kagome and waited patiently but warily. She turned to them and smiled. They gasped.

"Hey Guys."

"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yes."

"That's impossible. The last is I saw you, you were over fifty and at a funeral."

"That was an illusion."

They all blinked then sank in the chairs and on the couch as they watched Kagome. She cleared her throat and began.

"My wish on the sacred jewel was to become a demon."

She shimmered and suddenly a demoness was in front of us.

"I tricked you because I didn't want you to know. I've been around for the last five hundred years. I kept track of you guys. But I traveled all over the world. I came back to Japan because yesterday I jumped through the well and never came back through it. It been five hundred years for us but to my family I left yesterday. The well's time finally caught up to me."

We sat for a minute and filled in a lot of blanks. Finally Shippo who had been quivering lunged at Kagome, knocking her to the floor as he hugged the life out of her.

"Shippo can't breathe." She gasped.

He finally let go. When she stood up everyone else gave her a hug. They all babble for a while and even I threw in the occasional question or comment. Then suddenly Inuyasha looked a little sad.

"We've been trying to buy the land Sango and Miroku's graves on but Drywell Co. Owns the land and won't give it up." He said suddenly. "We're worried they'll tear the place down."

"I know." Kagome said.

"I'm going to try and get a meeting with the owner and negotiate with them." I said.

"No need."

I blinked at Kagome.

"Why not?"

"Cause I own the land the graves are on."

"What?!" You bought it from Drywell Co.?" Inuyasha asked.

"No. I own Drywell Co."

My mouth fell open. My rival company was owned by an ally. Everyone else also looked shocked.

"What?" Inuyasha asked quietly.

"I was the one who created Drywell Co. Get why I named it that?"

I remembered that she had traveled through the dry well. 'I should have wondered what kind of person would name a company Drywell.' I thought. Everyone just sat and talked for a while longer as they caught up. She told us what had happened in the past five hundred years for her and we told her the parts of our lives she didn't know. Finally I stood.

"Let's go out for lunch." I stated.

Everyone agreed and we disguised ourselves and headed for the elevator. Luckily I had built a large one. When we got to the bottom floor, the guards, and people in the room stared at our group. When we exited the building we headed for the parking lot. I quickly got in my Porsche with Rin. Inuyasha, Kikyo, and Shippo went and got in Inuyasha's mustang. Inuyasha offered Kagome a ride but she said she had her own vehicle. On the way down we had agreed to meet at a certain restaurant, so Rin and I pulled out and headed off. Inuyasha followed right behind us. When we arrived at the restaurant we parked and waited for Kagome. Suddenly a red motorcycle came ripping into the parking lot at a fast speed. Inuyasha and Shippo looked enviously at the bike. The person stopped quickly beside us and slid off the bike. I watched as the person pulled their helmet off. We all starred as Kagome straightened her hair. Inuyasha spoke first.

"You got a bike! Awesome!"

He was there in a second with Shippo looking it over. Finally we dragged the two inside and sat them down. We all ordered and ate. We stayed for about two hours as we ate and chatted away. Finally Kagome stood up and asked for the bill. We protested but in the end she paid for all of us. Then we headed outside. When we reached our Vehicles we stopped.

"I'll see you later guys. I have to go pick my brother up. I'm also going to go back to high school. I never finished so I'd like too. Of course I'm past a university level in my education but I'd still like to go. It'd give me something to do."

We nodded and waved as she peeled out on her bike. My brother and the fox watched the bike closely and I knew they would each have one soon enough. I sighed and jumped into my car. Rin jumped in beside me and kissed me before we pulled out and drove off.

Kagome's POV:

I picked my brother up and drove home. After I made a few phone calls I was enlisted in a high school. It wasn't my old one but I couldn't go there if I had wanted because I would be recognized. The high school I had got into wasn't known for being calm and peaceful though. It was full of fighters, punks, and hooligans. I didn't mind though, I actually had hoped to find a school like that. I picked up my uniform from them after dinner and told them I'd be there in the morning. I sighed happily. It would be nice to be back in school. The last time I had been in school was fifty years ago when I had went to a university in Germany. I went to bed that night excited.

--

In the morning I sat up quickly with the sun. I turned my alarm clock off since it wasn't needed and quickly got my uniform on. It was similar to my old one but the skirt was longer and it was blues and whites instead of greens and whites. I also changed my disguise appearance. Now instead of looking nineteen, I looked to about sixteen. I quickly ate and grabbed my books. The school was top far away to walk to and I had gotten permission to ride my bike so I hopped on the bike and pulled my helmet on. I drove easily to my new school and parked my bike. I was a bit early so only a few kids were already there. I found my locker and put my stuff away before exploring. When the bell rang I headed for my class. When I arrived I was introduced to the class.

"Class this is Kagome Higurashi. I hope you will treat her respectfully."

His voice said it was unlikely. I bowed.

"It's nice to meet you." I said.

I heard some nice comments from the boys and rude comments from the girls but ignored them all. The first people I noticed were three at the back. One had an enormous spiritual energy the other also had a large spiritual power. The last boy had long red hair in a ponytail. He was a demon in a human body. I took a seat next to the one with the largest spiritual power.

"Yo. My name's Yusuke, that's Kuwabara, and Shuichi."

"Hi. I'm Kagome."

For the rest of class we talked and pretty much ignored the lesson, but the teacher didn't seem to care. Then at lunch three girls pulled me aside.

"Kagome, you shouldn't go near Yusuke and Kuwabara. They're dangerous."

"Yeah, they're some of the strongest gangsters in the city. They haven't been beaten once yet."

"Well Kuwabara has been beaten but not Yusuke. Shuichi is nice though. He hangs out with them but he's a gentleman."

The girls sighed at Shuichi who was in the back of the room. I nodded. They warned me to stay away from them but I ignored the warning. For the next week I became known as the smartest teen in school. I also became known for my motorcycle. Most of the people thought it was awesome that I owned one. The guys always asked about it and some even asked for rides. Boys also asked me out everyday even though I refused all dates.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, Shuichi and I all became good friends. I also started to call Shuichi, Kurama. He said it was a nickname his friends used. I had noticed after the first day that Yusuke and Kuwabara never called him Shuichi. I also learned a girl named Keiko was Yusuke's girlfriend, and Botan was their friend. I didn't meet Keiko though because she was sick at first, then she was in another class and we seemed to just miss each other every time we met with Yusuke and them. Their 'friend', Botan I could tell wasn't alive. She was a spirit or something.

Then one afternoon I got a surprise. I was talking to the three as I got my motorcycle ready to go when Botan ran up and pulled Yusuke off. They started to talk quietly. Kuwabara just huffed and waited tapping his foot. Then Kurama blinked and smiled slightly. He waved past me.

"Oh Hi Hiei." Kurama said looking over my shoulder.

I gasped and spun, to see Hiei coming towards us. He looked bored. He nodded to Kurama. He stopped near Kurama and waited as Botan and Yusuke continued talking. I just stared at him trying to gather my thoughts. I was really glad to see him. I had missed him a lot. I hadn't seen him for three hundred years. He didn't appear to have changed at all except he had grown and I felt that he was stronger. I could also tell he had advanced in his fire control. Suddenly he seemed to see me watching him. He blinked at me as if he partly recognized me. I just stared into his eyes a moment and he did the same. It was really nice to see him again. I had missed him and tried to find him, but hadn't had much luck.

"Hiei." I finally laughed breaking our starring contest. "It's nice to see you again."

Yusuke and Botan stopped talking and turned towards us. Kuwabara was looking at us stupidly and Kurama blinked and glanced between us. Hiei blinked at me again.

"It's me Kagome." I smiled.

He gaped at me.

"Kagome?" He choked out.

The others were watching closely now. The others seemed surprise by his reaction. Even I had rarely seen him show emotion.

"It's so nice to see you."

I swooped over and gave him a hug. He had grown a lot and was almost as tall as me. The others were staring open mouthed at us. I kissed him on each cheek and he gave me a hug back. Now the others looked like their eyes were going to pop out.

"You know Hiei?" Kurama asked.

"Yeah we met..." I paused.

I glanced at Hiei who nodded to say that he trusted them.

"We'll explain in private." He said.

The others were still in shock. Then they shook their heads and we walked off down the street. I just pushed my bike beside me. We finally reached a home and Kuwabara told me it was his. I left my bike on the side of the house. We walked in quickly. There was already someone there. A woman who was introduced as Kuwabara's sister. She was smoking and watched everyone. We all sat and I looked at Hiei.

"You trust them? It is safe?"

"Yeah."

I glanced at them all before I lifted my illusion. They gaped again and Kuwabara's sister dropped her cigarette. I knew they could tell that I was powerful, but not how strong. I was actually stronger then most demons. I had guessed that five hundred years of training could make anyone strong. I myself could at least rival Sesshomaru.

"You're a demon." Yusuke choked out finally.

"Yes."

"I didn't sense you even though you were right beside me." Kuwabara said.

"That's because I used a very advanced illusion."

"When did you meet Hiei?" Kurama asked.

"Five hundred years ago."

They all whistled.

"Even I'm not that old." Kurama said.

Hiei spoke up.

"I haven't seen you in three hundred years. Where were you?"

"I traveled the world."

"Nh."

"And you still owe me, don't think I forgot."

Hiei winced and the others blinked and looked for an explanation.

"She saved my life the first time we met. Then she saved my life about seven other times." He sighed.

Yusuke laughed.

"I always thought you hated having help."

"I do."

I smirked.

"And you owe me big time mister."

He sighed again.

"But what have you been doing Hiei?"

"Traveling. Last year we all went to a tournament together. We won of course."

"Good for you."

"I also help Yusuke, Botan, Kuwabara, and Kurama. They are spirit detectives."

Botan cleared her throat.

"Well... we need to get down to business."

Everyone turned to her.

"We have a mission from Koenma. He said that he's been keeping an eye on Taisho Co. and Drywell Co. He said they are each owned by powerful demons. He said they haven't done anything yet but he needs to make sure they're on our side."

Suddenly a small kid appeared.

"That's right."

Then he looked at me and scowled.

"I don't know anything about you either."

"Well I'm five hundred and nineteen. I have been traveling the world."

"Mmh. We'll have to put you in our data base. But that aside, you need to check out the owners of these companies. If they aren't on our side or neutral with us we need to dispose of them."

I burst out laughing. Everyone starred.

Hiei's POV:

We watched Kagome as she laughed non-stop. She started to choke from the laughter. I saw tears in her eyes. She gripped her side as silent laughter shaked her frame. She finally calmed down and wiped her eyes sitting up. Laughter still escaped a little. Finally she sighed and grinned at us.

"What is so funny?" Konema Jr. asked.

"You want these four to dispose of the owner of Taisho Co. and me?"

"I never said you."

"Yes you did. I'm the owner of Drywell Co."

My mouth opened slightly along with the others.

"Well...that solves one problem. You are our ally or neutral with us right?" Koenma Jr. asked.

"Yeah, we're neutral."

"What was that about Taisho Co.? And how come we couldn't beat him?"

"Well I know the owner. You wouldn't have a chance in hell. At least not at your current strengths."

"Who is it?"

"Sesshomaru."

Koenma gasped and started to stutter. We all waited for him.

"You mean _Lord_ Sesshomaru? The demon lord of the west?"

"Yes."

"Oh… Well then we'll call of the exterminating him."

Everyone blinked at him. I had heard of Sesshomaru. He was the strongest of the four demon lords, and he was cold.

"Why?" Kurama asked.

Kurama was too young to have known him when he ruled without having to hide as a human.

"Sesshomaru Taisho is the demon lord of the west. He controls all the demons in the west; in both this dimension and the Makai. If he died then those demons loyal to him would run amuck. He's also powerful. He could squish all of you, except may be her…. And maybe Hiei." He said.

Kagome nodded in agreement.

"You know Sesshomaru?" Koenma Jr. asked.

"Yes."

"Could you arrange a meeting with him?"

"Do you want to see him now?"

"Could we?"

"Let me see."

Kagome pulled a cell phone from her bag and dialled a number. We waited. Suddenly she smiled.

"Hi Sesshomaru."

...

"I have some people with me who you need to meet."

...

"Your house."

...

"My house?"

...

"Okay then, see you in an hour."

She hung up and grinned at us.

"We'll meet him at my house in an hour."

"Okay."

"We should probably head out now."

They all nodded. She grabbed her phone again. She dialled and gave someone the address we were at. I was about to ask who she'd called when suddenly the door opened and four people walked in. Everyone blinked at them.

Kagome's POV:

"Yo Jin." Yusuke said cheerfully.

"Hi Yusuke. Hope you don't mind that we dropped in."

"Not at all."

They all talked for a moment. The one named Jin was a wind demon. There was one human who I could tell had spiritual power. The human, a kid, had a cap on and stars on his cheek. He had a yo-yo in hand and was sitting on one of the other demons shoulder. The other demon was tall. He had a Mohawk and a bottle of beer. He seemed friendly. The last demon had blue hair and I could tell he was an ice demon, though I didn't know his rank. They talked quickly with the others. They all looked relatively human, and only disguised the demon parts. Finally Jin noticed me. He blinked and jumped over to me. He leaned down and looked at me. He blinked and gaped.

"You!"

He jumped back and stood ready to fight. Everyone glanced between him and me. His ears quivered.

"Hello Jin, nice to see you again."

"You know each other?" Yusuke asked.

"We met a hundred years ago. I was traveling and I came upon a clearing in a large forest. She suddenly burst from the trees and attacked me. She cut off most of my hair, and got me in the arm. Then a second one of her appeared. The one who attacked me turned into an illusion demon and she killed it. She healed my arm and said I looked funny with my hair short. Then she left. It took weeks for my hair to grow back!"

Yusuke stifled laughter, Kurama smiled, and Kuwabara roared with laughter. The human also laughed and the demon, whose shoulder the human was sitting on, laughed loudly. Koenma and Botan grinned and the ice demon chuckled. When they calmed I stood up and grinned.

"Well are we going?"

The four new comers blinked but the others stood up.

"Yes." Koenma Jr. said.

Suddenly he turned into a human with a soother. I frowned and pulled it away. He complained but I tossed it to Hiei who burned it to ash. Koenma gaped and worked his mouth then he sighed. Yusuke high-fived me and laughed.

"So how do we get to your house?" Yusuke asked.

"You're going to her house? Why?" Jin asked.

"Business." Koenma said.

"You can come if you want." I said.

"Sure." The three chorused and Jin sighed okay.

I threw on my illusion. I quickly gathered up everyone and shooed them out the door. They all blinked at the limo waiting there. Then Yusuke rounded on me.

"When did that get here?"

"I phoned right after I made the meeting."

"We get to ride in that?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yes."

The front door opened and a tall black haired man stepped out.

"Good evening Lady Kagome."

"Hello Kei."

"Where are we going?"

"Home. And you will take these guys? I'm going to ride my bike."

"Hai."

I pushed Yusuke, Koenma, Kuwabara, and Kurama in. The other four just stared at the limo and Hiei got in himself.

"That's yours?!" Jin asked.

"Yes. Hiei and they can explain." I said.

The four slowly got in. When they were in I slammed the door and watched them drive out. I grabbed my bike and pulled my helmet on. I was about to take off when a girl came walking up. She had a bag on her shoulder and it looked like something wanted out. She smiled at me and skipped up to Kuwabara's door. I decided to wait. His sister answered the door.

"Hello Keiko."

'Guess that's Keiko Yusuke's girlfriend.' I thought.

"Hello. Is Yusuke here? I found his beast hoping in this direction. I couldn't let it keep going or it would have been seen, but it seemed to want to see him. It doesn't like to be away for too long."

A muffled 'peep' came from the bag. Kuwabara's sister saw me.

"He's not here right now. They all went off to do a mission, but if you give the beast to her, she'll give it to Yusuke."

Keiko looked at me and blinked. She thanked her, and hoped down the steps to me. She looked me over. I smiled.

"Hello Keiko it's nice to finally meet you."

"You know Yusuke and them?"

"Yes. We are in the same classes. I was just about to go see them."

"So you know about demons and such?"

"Yes, I'm a demon myself."

"Oh, well then here."

She opened the bag and a small blue 'thing' jumped out. It had the face of a penguin, long ears, a stocky little body, a tuff of hair, and tiny feet and hands. It flapped the ears and flew over to me. I laughed as it dropped on my head.

"I'll make sure he gets it."

"Thanks."

"Do you want to come?"

"No, I promised to meet my friends."

"Okay then bye."

"Bye."

She waved as she trotted off. I grabbed the beast on my head and put him in my coat. His head popped out at my neck and he peeped. I laughed and flipped the visor down on my helmet. I started my bike and shot off towards my house.

Hiei's POV:

We all sat down in the huge limo. It fit all of us easily. We took off and I explained what was going on to Jin and the other three. Kuwabara and Yusuke explored every inch of the limo. They looked like kids at a play ground.

"Hey Hiei...." Yusuke said sitting down finally.

"Yes?"

"How many times have you and Kagome done 'it'?"

In a second he was lying on the floor nursing a giant bump on his head. A vein in my forehead was about to pop.

"What makes think I've slept with her?" I asked coldly.

"Well you've know each other for five hundred years, and you gave her a hug."

"That was a friendly nice-to-see-you hug not a lover's hug."

"Well she is hot."

Most of the people in the limo nodded in agreement.

"Mh."

"I bet by the end of the month you two will have slept together."

He got a kick in the side from me.

"I wonder if she's still a virgin." Yusuke said.

"She is." Koenma said.

Every one looked at him.

"How do you know?"

"The owner of Drywell Co. is known for her beauty and purity. The guys flock after her for those reasons."

"Whoa… Five hundred and nineteen and still a virgin." Yusuke whistled.

Then he frowned slightly.

"Hey Hiei. Are you still a virgin?"

Everyone looked at me. I blinked at the question.

"No."

"At least he's slightly normal." Yusuke sighed.

"And what does that have to do with sex?" I sighed.

"Everything. Now about Kagome…"

"Can we not talk about sex?" I asked blandly.

"Whatever, you just embarrassed."

"Why would I be embarrassed?"

"Cause you probably haven't attracted a woman to sleep with you in a while."

"Who says no woman has tried to sleep with me recently?"

"What? Someone tried and you didn't take the chance in an instant! God and I thought Kuwabara was an idiot."

"Hey!"

"Maybe Hiei hasn't slept with anyone recently because he's trying to be faithful to Kagome." Jin said.

"Yeah right." Hiei snorted. "Kagome and I are just friends."

"Well why don't you sleep with her then?"

"Because we're friends."

"It wouldn't ruin your friendship, just make it more intimate."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. These people were idiots. Kurama and Toya were the only one not acting like an idiot.

"Listen. I am not going to sleep with Kagome."

"I bet you will."

I rolled my eyes at Yusuke.

"You have to at least admit she's hot."

"Okay, I admit my _friend_ Kagome is hot. Happy?"

"Not really, at least not until you sleep with her."

I sighed and leaned back into the seat.

"Why don't you just sleep with her? Then you both will be cured of your virginity, it will be over and done with, and we won't bug you."

I just ignored them and closed my eyes, falling into though. 'I do admit she is really hot. Her eyes are stunning, her hair is silky, her breasts are...' I shook the thoughts off. After about fifteen minutes we stopped. The driver parked and opened the door for us. We stepped out and blinked. The others mouths fell open. We were in front of a giant house. It was huge. The whole place seemed to be surrounded by a rock wall.

I looked back down the drive way and saw two large iron worked gates. There was a fountain and the whole yard was filled with plants and paths. The house itself was three stories and looked like a mansion. The driver told us it had over fifty rooms, and some rooms were the size of a school gym. We walked into the house. A servant took our coats and I noticed she was demon. I noticed other demon and human presences through the house. The driver Kei got back in the limo and went to park in a garage. The servant who took our coats smiled at us.

"You have no need to wear illusions here, demons, and humans are both welcome here."

We nodded. Then we followed her to a living room. Everyone flopped down on over cushioned chairs and couches. We looked around. The servant told us to wait here so we sat and waited for Kagome. After five minutes we heard the door open. Kagome came in a moment later. She grinned at Yusuke.

"Brought someone for you."

He blinked. Suddenly his beast popped out of Kagome's shirt.

'Peep.'

Yusuke glared at it while the others grinned.

"Stupid beast. How did you get to ride in Kagome's shirt? Lucky thing."

'Peep.'

The thing flew out and landed on Yusuke's head. He growled. Kagome turned to Jin and the other three.

"I'm sorry I didn't catch your names."

"Oh, I'm Rinko.' The kid said.

"I'm Chu." The one with the Mohawk said.

"And I'm Toya."

"Nice to meet you. Now Sesshomaru will be here in less the half an hour.

The four blinked.

"THE Lord Sesshomaru is coming here?" Jin asked.

"Know him?"

"Heard about him."

"What did you guys come to see us for?" Yusuke asked.

"We'll talk when Sesshomaru gets here, he'll want to know too." Jin said.

Everyone shrugged and Kagome sat beside me. Yusuke grinned slyly at me and I shot him a glare. We talked for a while when suddenly we heard arguing. Everyone turned to the door. Two women came in. One was a half demon, and the other was a full demon. Beside them were a half demon male, a half demon female, and a full demon male. They all sighed and sat down on the chairs. Two seconds later a half demon and full demon walked in. The half demon was yelling, and the demon looked calm as he ignored the half demon. A fox demon came hurrying in and grabbed the half demon stopping him from attacking the other demon. Suddenly Kagome stood.

"Inuyasha would you shut up?"

The half demon suddenly realized we were all there. He blinked and sat down across from the full demon. Kagome sighed and stood pointing to the half demon.

"That's Inuyasha, that's his wife Kikyo, those are his children Midoriko and Miroku. They are all half demons."

The half demons nodded at their names.

"That is Shippo. He's a fox demon. And that's Sesshomaru, his son Inutaisho, and his wife Rin. Inuyasha is his half brother."

We all nodded to Sesshomaru. Kagome was about to say something but was interrupted.

"Stupid thing!" Yusuke yelled as the beast fell off his head.

This grabbed everyone's attention. He picked the thing up and threw it. The beast flapped his ears and flew to the woman Rin. It plopped into her lap and stayed there. She smiled and patted it on the head.

"Sorry." Yusuke said.

"Don't be. He's cute."

Yusuke stifled laughter at 'he's cute'. Suddenly Koenma stepped forwards. He bowed slightly to Sesshomaru and changed back into a baby with a new soother.

"Lord Sesshomaru. I was the one who wished to meet you. I'm Koenma Jr. I wished to know if you are an ally with the underworld, neutral, or our enemy."

Everyone waited as Sesshomaru looked at him. He glanced at Kagome who nodded.

"I'll be neutral."

Koenma sighed.

"Thanks."

He flopped down by Yusuke.

"Is that all you needed me for?" Sesshomaru asked Kagome.

"Jin says he has something to tell us all."

Jin perked up and stood up.

"There is going to be another tournament. Anybody is allowed to enter. The winner gets one wish. You may team up with others. No more than five on a team. You may kill. It will be held in two months on an island not far from here."

We all blinked. Yusuke jumped up and high fived Kuwabara who also jumped up.

"Yes! No more sitting around, finally a real fight!"

Everyone seemed interested.

"Interesting." Sesshomaru said.

We all agreed.

"Toya, Chu, Rinko, and I are on a team and have already signed up."

Kuwabara and Yusuke looked at each other and nodded. Then they looked at Kurama who also nodded. Finally all three looked at me. I sighed and nodded too.

"Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and I are on a team." Kurama said.

"Hey Shippo want to be on a team with me?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah!" The fox said.

"How about you Sesshomaru?"

"What makes you think I would be on a team with you, moron?"

"Hey don't call me a moron!"

"Even if it's true?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha scowled at her.

"But I will join you." Sesshomaru said. "Jaken will also."

"I'll join too father." Inutaisho said.

"Then Shippo, Sesshomaru, Inutaisho, Jaken, and I'll be on a team." Inuyasha said.

Kagome ran out of the room quickly. We blinked. Suddenly she appeared again and had some paper and a pen. She made lists of the teams. She handed one to Sesshomaru, Jin, and Kurama. Then she sat by me. Suddenly she perked up.

"Hey Kurama, Hiei, Yusuke, Kuwabara. Can I be on your team?"

We blinked at her.

"I don't mind." Kurama said.

"Sure." Yusuke chorused.

"But girls shouldn't fight, it's against the code." Kuwabara said.

I just whacked him on the head shutting him up.

"Fine." I sighed.

She clapped her hands and Kurama added her to our list. Suddenly Jin looked at us.

"You should send those lists out soon so they reserve a place for you."

"Okay." Kagome said.

"So two months from now?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Yes." Jin said.

"Fine."

Suddenly Midoriko, Kikyo, Inuyasha, Shippo, Inutaisho, Sesshomaru, and Rin stood up.

"We'll be going then." Sesshomaru said.

"See you in two months." Inuyasha said as they headed out.

Kagome waved. When they were out she sunk into the couch.

"Hey you guys know any where we can stay till the tournament?" Chu asked.

We all shook our heads no.

"Unless you want to stay at my house, but it would be crowded and my mom would complain a lot." Yusuke said.

"You can stay here." Kagome said.

They all blinked.

"Or I can get you rooms at my hotel if you'd like that better."

"We can really stay here?" Jin asked startled.

"Sure why not. It's big enough. You can all stay if you want."

"Thanks." Rinko said energetically.

"I'll show you around." Kagome said jumping up.

We all stood and followed her. She showed us the kitchen, three living rooms, two dinning rooms, ball room, office, library, her room, the servant rooms, and spare rooms.

"It's huge." Yusuke said.

Kagome sighed.

"I wanted to get a smaller one, but I either could get an apartment, or this. And with this I have a place for other demons to stay too."

Then we followed her to the garage. It was huge and could easily fit twenty trucks. The only vehicles in it were the limo, her motorcycle, a brand new black car, and an army green jeep. They were all one side. In the empty space was large gymnastic set-up. There were skinny balance beams, poles, bars, and such. We blinked at the others set off to check them out.

"What is this for?" Rinko asked.

"Training. They are all used for training in balance and flexibility."

"Nice." Kurama said.

"I'll show you the basement now."

"There's more?!" Yusuke asked.

"You'll like this part."

She walked to the end of the garage and pulled a hidden handle on the floor. A trap door opened up revealing a set of stairs. We all followed behind Kagome. We walked down quite a distance before the floor evened out. We stepped into a large rectangular room. It was huge. The ceiling was two hundred feet up high. The whole room seemed to take up Kagome's whole piece of property but was wide open. The floor was dirt but the ceiling and roof where stone. We all gaped.

In one corner were tall bamboo poles; Hundreds of them. Some close together others far apart. They all came out of a deep pool of water. I guessed that you trained on them, like the Chinese. They barely took up a eighth of the room. In another corner were bars suspend from the ceiling all at different heights. They looked like a trapeze set up. Then there was another spot that was covered in rocks, boulders, and stalagmites. They looked like if you fell on any they'd spear you. There was one area that had a round elevated arena.

On either side of us were two stone rooms. There were two large rooms and in one it was all darkness. I guessed the room cut off all sense of direction, and sight. The second on had series of walls in it and I found out it was a maze. In the center of the room was a large pool. It looked deep. On the surface where floating mats. Kuwabara inspected them and then jumped onto one. It wiggled and threatened to tip. He shifted his weight a little and he was in the water spluttering and swimming to the edge.

"You need to have perfect balance to fight on these." Kagome said.

"It's amazing." Jin said.

"My own personal training grounds. I designed it myself."

We all looked over every set up and Kagome gave us some examples of what they were for and how to fight and train on them. The trapeze set up was to train with out standing. You had to swing from bar to bar while fighting. The poles were for balance and the rest of the stuff was obvious what they were used for. At the very end of the room was an exercise area. There were weights, treadmills, and other things. There was also off to the side a small door. It led into a large bathroom. It had a large hot tub that could fit ten people easily, a bench to rest on, and a set of showers in stalls. Everyone whistled at the lay out.

"I've owned the place for almost a hundred years. I bought it when I came here once."

We nodded.

"So do you all want to stay?"

"Even us?" Kuwabara and Yusuke asked.

"Yeah. If you stay here then you can train too. So staying?"

"Yes." Everyone chorused.

Kagome smiled and took us back up stairs. Then we all decided on rooms. Kurama and I were on either side of Kagome's room. Jin, Toya, Chu, and Rinko had room across the hall from Kagome and us. Yusuke and Kuwabara got rooms on either side of Kurama and me. When that was finished we all headed to the dinning room for dinner. At some time Kagome had ordered pizza. Everyone sat down and ate as they planned how to train for the two months. When everyone finally returned to their rooms it was late.

--

I woke up at about seven and sat up blinking. Kagome said we were going to be grabbing our stuff today and getting supplies. I sighed and pulled on my black cargo pants and t-shirt. I left my cloak and sword though. I doubted that I would need them. I headed out of my room and for the kitchen. I heard noise before I saw anyone. I walked into the kitchen to find Kagome cooking while humming. I blinked at her and sat down at the table. He smiled at me.

"Morning Hiei. Will you wake the others for me? Tell them if they want pancakes they have to be down here in two minutes."

I nodded and headed back to the rooms. I knocked on Yusuke's door first and heard a mumbled come in. Yusuke was curled in his bed with his beast on his back, in his boxers. I kicked him awake and told him pancakes were ready. He nodded groggily and I left. I also had to kick Kuwabara awake. He was less quiet about it and yelled after me. Then I knocked on Kurama's door. He opened it a minute later in some pyjamas. He nodded to me and I left him. I went to Jin's room yes. He opened the door looking awake. He smiled and headed down the hall. Toya also was up and he headed down stairs. Chu was also like Kuwabara and yelled at me for kicking him awake. The last person I got was Rinko. He woke and opened the door in pyjamas too. He seemed asleep in his feet. He said he would come but looked about to fall asleep again. I just headed back down stairs. Everyone was already there except Rinko. I told Kagome and she nodded. She set three large plates of pancakes, French toast, and eggs. Everyone dug in except Kagome who headed out of the room. I just yawned again and also grabbed some food.


	10. After The Jewel Part 2

Kagome's POV:

I walked into Rinko's room and found him asleep on his bed. It looked like he had gotten up and fell asleep again. I sat beside him and shook him gently. He slowly woke up and blinked at me.

"Time to get up Rinko."

"Mh."

"I guess you're not a morning person."

"I'm still a kid. I need lots of sleep." He argued.

I smiled at him. Then I helped him get some clothes. I waited till he was dressed before dragging him down stairs. At the sound of breakfast he woke up completely. He sat on my shoulders as I headed for the kitchen. When we walked in he jumped down and sat at the table. He also grabbed some food and dug in. I just sat and drank some water. When everyone was finished we stacked the dishes by the sink and left them for one of the servants to clean. Then we sat back down.

"First today we need to get all of your guys stuff."

Everyone nodded.

"Then we need to do some shopping."

They blinked at me.

"I need groceries, and I have some errands to run."

"Do we need to come?" Jin asked.

"You don't have to."

They all nodded.

"Now do any of you guys have a driver's license?"

"No, they took mine after I was caught drinking and driving more then five times." Chu said.

"I'm too young." Rinko said.

"Didn't bother to get one." Hiei said.

"Me neither." Jin said.

"They wouldn't let us get one." Kuwabara and Yusuke chorused.

"I have one though I don't like to often drive I prefer to walk if possible." Toya said.

"I got one to help my mother around." Kurama said.

"Good. Then we'll take more then one vehicle."

They nodded and I stood. They all followed me to the garage.

"I'm driving the jeep. Kurama or Toya can drive the car. So who goes with whom?" I asked.

Soon we had split into two groups. Chu, Rinko, Jin, and I got in the jeep and Kuwabara, Yusuke, Hiei, Toya, and Kurama got in the black car. Kurama was going to stop at his place first then Kuwabara's and then meet me at Yusuke's. I was going to stop at my shrine first too. We waved and headed out of the drive way. I turned my music on full blast and we drove off. Jin sat in the front with the window wide open looking out. He had disguised his demon attributes; the others had done the same. Rinko talked to Chu who sat beside him. I didn't hear what they were talking about and I didn't try but I heard them laugh every once in a while. We stopped at my shrine and I parked my jeep in the garage. Then we all headed up to the shrine.

"You guys can take off your disguises if you want." I told them.

They shrugged and did so. I walked up to the house and slid open the door.

"Mom, I'm home."

My mom peeked around the corner.

"Hi dear, brought friends?"

"Yeah."

We followed her into the kitchen were a pile of brownies and cookies were on the table fresh from the oven.

"Help yourself." She said.

Rinko thanked her and immediately started eating some. Then my I heard my grandfather rush into the house.

"I sense four demons!" He said.

He blinked at us.

"Don't worry grandpa, just me and my friends."

"Oh. Dear can you help me put something away?" He asked my mother.

"Of course father."

They headed out leaving us alone.

"Well they seem to be calm about their daughter bring demons home." Gin said.

"It's a long story." I sighed.

"Sis!"

Souta slid into the room.

"Hi sis, how have you been?"

"Good Souta."

"Who are these?"

"This is Jin, Chu, and Rinko. They are demons except Rinko is a human.

"Yo."

They nodded to him.

"Why did you come home? I thought you had your own house."

"I do but I needed to grab some stuff I left and I wanted to talk to grandpa."

"Is something going on?"

"We're entering a tournament."

"Cool! Can I come with you and watch?"

"Maybe."

"Are these demons entering to?"

"Yes and Rinko is too."

"That little boy? He's smaller then me."

Rinko grinned.

"So, I'm stronger then you." He said.

"You are?" Souta asked.

"Yeah, I can control spiritual energy."

"Oh, all I can do is throw knives."

Rinko's eyes lit up.

"You can throw knives? Will you show me?"

Souta grinned and walked to the cutlery drawer. We pulled six sharp looking cooking knives out and whipped them at me. I just continued eating my cookie. They flew past me and embedded in the wall a centimetre away from my head.

"Cool." Rinko said.

"What do you do?" Souta asked.

"I guide my yo-yos with my spiritual power.

I watched as he pulled two yo-yos from his belt. I had thought he had just had them to play with. His yo-yos glowed with spiritual energy and shot forwards pulling the knives from the wall and handing them to Souta. Souta grinned. I stood up.

"I'm going to grab some things, be back in a minute."

I walked form the room to my room upstairs. I sorted through my dresser and pulled out clothes. When I reached the bottom of one of my drawers I pulled my bow and quiver of arrows out. The bow was made of cherry wood and the string from demon hair. Sango had given it to me before she died. I sighed as I remembered her. Then I headed downstairs. I slipped outside to the back of the shrine towards the storage building. I found the door open. I walked into the room only lit by one candle. I saw my grandpa looking all over and scowling. He looked at me and frowned.

"I sense something…"

"I know. One of the items in the room that has lain dormant has awoken."

I sensed that something was about to happen. I scowled slightly as a burst of energy was released at the end of one wall. I hissed and pulled my grandpa from the room. He gasped as a blood red glow came form the room. I pushed him back.

"Stay here. Keep the others out."

I walked into the room just getting a glimpse of Jin, Chu, Rinko, and Souta running for us. I knew they had sensed the burst of power. I grinned at them and stepped into the room. Luckily I had put a barrier around the whole shrine to keep spiritual and demon powers already inside from being sensed. I shut the door closing both me and the red glow in. I walked down the shelves to the end of the room. The item giving off all the power and bloodlust was a long wooden case. The case was shaking as if what ever was inside wanted out. I sighed and took a step forwards. The power became even more powerful the closer I got. It was like walking through water. Finally I reached the case and grabbed the clasp, throwing it open. In a burst of red light the power shot out. I scowled as I recognized Sounga's sheath. It shot up and floated two feet in front of me. All the light and power in the room shot towards it. In a blast of red light the hilt of Sounga appeared in the sheath.

"Ha-ha! I'm back!" He cackled.

"How?" I asked.

The sword seemed to turn to me.

"You are Inuyasha's wench." He said.

I pinched my lips together and tried to calm down.

"Well since I'm going to kill you I guess I could tell you. You see when I finally broke free of the sheath and guardian I left a small piece of my power in it. It was small enough that no one noticed. Then when I was sent to hell I tried to get out. It is impossible for a dead spirit to leave hell but I wasn't really dead I had just been sent there. With a piece of me here I had something to guide me back. The problem was that I had left such a small piece I had trouble finding it. It took me forever to finally get out. But now I'm back and I'm going to get revenge." He cackled madly.

"Well buster I hate to break the celebration, but you must get past me first."

"Ha! That will be easy. You are merely a weak human."

"Wrong." I said.

I lifted the barrier and illusions that were layered around me. I also quickly threw a barrier around the room so the others outside couldn't sense my power. I felt the barriers around me lift. Sounga's laughter faded quickly. Soon he was silent. My hair had become blacker, my fangs and claws grew, my eyes turned a deeper color, and two brown stripes crept up my face. My power spread through the room and soon Sounga was slowly floating back. I laughed at him. Over the past five hundred years my power had grown; Very much. Soon I had had to put barriers around myself to keep other demons from being attracted to me. I heard a small gasp come from Sounga. I quickly wove more illusions and barriers laying them in place. I soon looked like a human again.

"That was about two thirds of my power."

"T…two …thirds." Sounga stuttered.

"Yes."

"Even Inutaisho didn't have that power." He gasped.

I smirked.

"How?" He asked.

I explained the story to him. Then I smirked again.

"I think I'll keep you."

Sounga was silent for a moment.

"Will I get to kill?"

"There is a tournament coming up. We will kill then, and demons who bother me before of after that."

"Then I am fine with you… for now."

I laughed.

"You don't have much choice. I can keep you as long as I want."

He grumbled.

"Do you know if Sesshomaru and Inuyasha are alive?"

"They are. They both are married and have kids also."

"They will enter the tournament?"

"Yes, we won't kill them though but he can draw blood."

"Sesshomaru will try and take me from you."

"He won't know about you till the tournament and when he finds out I'd say we're are pretty much equal in strength. So he will have a hard time getting you."

Sounga agreed and then sighed.

"Fine, I will listen to you."

"You do that and I will give you as much freedom as I can give you."

"Deal." He sighed.

I smirked and grabbed him. The glow vanished.

"I will have to get something to strap you to my back with." I said.

"Nh."

"Now, we are going out then to my place. You kill my friends and I'll purify you past hell."

"Fine." He growled.

With that I took the barrier off the room and walked out. I found grandpa on his knees praying, Mom behind grandpa, Souta with a knife ready and out, Rinko with his yo-yos, Chu looking deadly, and Jin with his ears quivering. They all blinked at me and sighed in relief.

"What was that Kagome?" My grandpa asked.

"An old friend." I said.

Jin looked at the sword and reached to touch it. I pulled it back quickly.

"I wouldn't do that Jin, this sword bites."

Jin frowned.

"Yeah, if you touch me you'll regret it." Sounga growled.

Everyone's mouths fell open as the sword growled.

"That's…" Souta, mom, and grandpa gasped.

"Yes it is him." I said.

"I thought…" Grandpa started.

"It's a long story and we have to go, I'll tell you another day." I said.

They nodded reluctantly and we headed for my jeep. The three watched the sword carefully as we headed down the shrine stairs. When we reached the jeep I got everyone in and pulled out of the garage. As we drove to Yusuke's I explained about Sounga who sat silently.

"This is Sounga. He is the sword of hell. He used to belong to Inutaisho, the great dog general of the west. He used to be a dragon demon but he was made into a sword. He is powerful and if you aren't more powerful then him, he can posses you. He did that to Inuyasha and it led to a cascade of events but then Inuyasha and Sesshomaru sent him to hell. He managed to get out though."

After wards the four kept relatively silent and glanced at the sword once. When we arrived at Yusuke's the others were already there.

"Took you long enough!" Yusuke yelled as we stepped out of the jeep.

Hiei and Kurama glanced at the silent four behind me.

"We had some thing pop up." I said calmly.

Yusuke just grumbled and we headed inside. We all sat as Yusuke started to pack. A woman came into the house a moment later drinking two beers at once and carrying a case. She blinked at us.

"Yo Yusuke, what are you doing?"

"I'm packing. We're staying at Kagome's to train for the up coming tournament."

"Another tournament? I'll be there!" She laughed.

I realized this was Yusuke's mother. Keiko came in right behind her. I felt Sounga, on my lap, start to get impatient.

"Can we hurry?" He growled.

Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, Kurama, Toya, Keiko, and Yusuke's mother gaped at the sword with wide eyes. We explained to them and they kept away from the sword who was grumbling about blood, killing, and death. When everything was planned and packed I stood up.

"I'm going to do some errands. Who's coming with me?" I asked.

Rinko, Hiei, and Kurama agreed to come with me. The rest got in the car and Toya drove them back to my house. We jumped into the jeep and headed off. Sounga sat near Hiei who looked the sword over. Then he and the sword started to talk quietly. I saw that they were getting along at least a little and left them. The first stop was at the mall to get groceries and such. I threw a barrier around my jeep and left Sounga in there. Kurama and Hiei walked beside me and Rinko sat on my shoulders like a shoulder ride.

"Rinko, your legs are going to be rubber if you always get ride."

"My legs will not turn to rubber. That is impossible…. I think."

I laughed and saw the other two smile. We walked into the mall and headed for the food department. Hiei looked around a lot and I guessed he often didn't come into a mall. Kurama walked as if he was used to it though. Rinko also glanced around a lot. I ripped my list in two and gave half to them with a wad of money. We arranged to meet at the food court in an hour. They waved and Rinko and I set off. He seemed interested in everything and I was once again reminded that he was just a kid. We grabbed our groceries, then headed off down the mall hall towards the other stores.

"Wait Kagome! Can we stop in their?" He asked excitedly.

I looked to were he pointed. It was a store full of toys and sweets. I giggled.

"Sure Rinko."

He bounced excitedly. We walked into the store and I set him down. He quickly jogged through every isle. I followed him. He found an isle with yo-yos in it. He starred at all the different yo-yos.

"Do you want one?" I asked.

His eyes twinkled with surprise.

"I can get one?" He asked breathlessly.

"Sure. But you have to promise to train lots."

He huzzahed and picked out a red one with stars. I laughed and dragged him to the candy isle. We each picked out a large bag of sweets and headed off to pay. We walked out of the store, Rinko back on my shoulder looking at his new yo-yo and with a sucker poking out his mouth. He grinned and hummed happily. I finished the rest of my shopping relatively quickly and headed for the food court. Rinko and I got a burger and pop each and some fries. We sat down at an empty table and ate as we waited for Hiei and Kurama. Suddenly I heard three high pitch squeals and winced.

"Kagome!"

My three friends and Hojo walked up and sat in the empty seats.

"We haven't seen you in years."

"Where have you been?" Hojo asked.

"I stayed with some family in England, then Canada for a while."

"Lucky." They chorused.

Rinko blinked at them and then they seemed to see him.

"Who is this?" Yumi asked.

"This is Rinko. He's staying at my house for a while."

"Hello. Aren't you cute?! I like your star tattoos."

They all awed over him as he pushed farther into his chair looking nervous.

"Kagome."

I looked up at Hiei and Kurama. My three friends gasped, grabbed me, and dragged me off to the side, leaving Hiei, Kurama, Rinko, and Hojo at the table.

"You're dating two hot people at a time?" Ayumi asked.

I sighed.

"No. They are both just good friends." I said.

"Then introduce us." Yuri said.

"They each have a girl friend." I lied.

I knew the two would be annoyed if my friends tried to date them. My friends sighed. Hojo walked over to us.

"It was nice seeing you again Kagome." Eri said.

The three of then trotted off with a wink at me. I made a face at them. Then I turned to Hojo.

"Hi, Hojo."

"Can we talk? In private?"

I nodded. He pulled me off. I noticed Hiei, Kurama, and Rinko follow after us in the shadows. Finally we came to an almost deserted hall of the mall. Hojo sat pulled me into a corner away from the view of people walking down the hall a little ways away, and turned to me.

"I was wondering if you would still go out with me. While you were gone, my feelings for you didn't disappear, they increased."

"Hojo…"

"Don't answer now, think about it." He interrupted.

I looked at him and analyzed him. He seemed different from high school. My miko powers told me he wasn't as pure anymore either.

"Hojo I…"

He put a finger to my lips.

"You don't have to say anything. I already know your answer."

Suddenly his lips pressed against mine. His one hand combed through my hair and the other slid down to my ass. He gripped it and pulled me close to him. I turned my head breaking the kiss. He grinned at me.

"Nervous?" He asked.

"No, I don't feel this way about you anymore Hojo."

He frowned.

"What? But I've loved you this whole time."

"That doesn't mean my feelings stayed the same."

He growled.

"I don't care!"

His hands pinned mine to the wall and he kissed me more forcefully. One hand pinned mine and the other slipped up my shirt. I gasped. He used this opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth. I growled against him. He pushed his body closer. I growled again and kicked him in the shin. He yelped and let me go. My one hand quickly came into contact with his face. A loud crack ran through the hall as my slap hit him. Then I turned and walked away leaving a wide eyed Hojo with a red hand print on his face.

Hiei, Kurama, and Rinko quickly fell beside me as I turned into the hall. We made our way to my jeep carrying our bags. They quickly buckled up and I pulled out of the parking lot. Sounga was even quiet. I knew they could feel the angry aurora coming off of me. I was ready to murder someone. I drove down the road taking a few turns. Finally we reached my mansion. I parked in the drive way and we walked inside the house. We found the others in the kitchen grabbing some food. They all noticed I was angry to and didn't say anything. I quickly unpacked my bags, then headed for my garden. I needed to cool off.

Hiei's POV:

We had silently slipped after Kagome and the boy Hojo. We watched from the shadows as they talked. I calculated that this was her old boyfriend. When the boy Hojo had kissed Kagome forcefully I had felt the aurora around her turn murderous. I was surprised everyone in the mall hadn't felt it. She had slapped him hard and walked off. I was surprised again, that she hadn't murdered him. We slipped in beside her, carrying the bags. We slipped into the jeep where the sword Sounga was silent. When we arrived at the mansion we quickly walked inside. Kagome had quickly unpacked and then headed for the door. After she was gone the others questioned us. When they found out what was wrong they growled.

"Hiei, go after her." Yusuke said.

I sighed and stayed sitting but they grabbed me and threw me out the door Kagome had gone out. I sighed and walked down the paths outside. I soon turned a corner and found Kagome sitting on a stone bench by a small fountain. She was singing softly and had a bird perched on her finger. I watched for a minute then sat beside her. She glanced at me.

"What?" She asked quietly.

"The others sent me after you."

"Why?"

"They think we're lovers and I should be romantic and comfort you."

She burst out laughing startling the bird into flight.

"You, romantic?!"

She couldn't get out anymore as she giggled.

"I know."

This made her giggle more. Finally she calmed down. She sighed with a grin and wiped a tear away. She stood.

"I have to do something. Then we should all go train."

I nodded. I followed as she marched to the kitchen. She stopped and looked at everyone. Yusuke grinned at me.

"I heard you sent Hiei after me."

They all looked off and whistled innocently.

"You wanted him to comfort me and be romantic?"

Most of them nodded.

"Well then I've got news for you. Hiei couldn't be romantic to save his life."

Kurama nodded and the others grinned. Then Kagome motioned Sounga over. He floated over.

"I can give you a temporary body if you like."

The sword froze.

"You could?"

"Yeah, it's a spell I learned from a witch on an island near Europe. I can give a temporary body to a soul."

"Okay."

Kagome grinned. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She slapped her hands together and started to chant in a different language. Her hair lifted slightly and a brown light glowed around her. Sounga started to glow red. Suddenly in a flash a person appeared where the sword had been. He looked at his hands then all over himself while gaping. He had bright red hair in a ponytail. His eyes were yellow, and he had claws and fangs. He also had two twisting horns coming out of his head. His ears were pointed and he felt strong. He was wearing baggy black pants and a red t-shirt. He had a black sash draped over his shoulder and big black boots covered in buckles.

"I know you were a dragon but I can only give bodies that resemble humans." Kagome said.

"Wow."

I recognized Sounga's voice and realized what ever Kagome had done had worked. We all looked at him as he moved his limbs. Then he grinned.

"Let's fight." He said to Kagome.

She nodded.

"We were going to train anyways."

We all nodded and followed her to the garage, down the stairs, to the training room. Sounga looked all over the room. Finally his eyes rested on the poles. He grinned and strode over to them. Kagome followed. The two jumped up and balanced on the skinny bamboo poles. They each bowed slightly then crouched in fighting position. We all stood at the base of the poles and looked up. Jin said begin and the two lunged at each other. They jumped back and lunged again. They each seemed evenly matched at the moment. They did a few more lunges. Then suddenly Sounga was falling. In a loud splash he fell into the pool. He broke the surface spitting out water. He growled and climbed out. We all knew Kagome was stronger.

We left the two to fight again and walked off to do our own training. As the day wore on we all lost more energy. Finally Kagome announced it was about eight. We all stopped fighting and training and sighed. Kagome told us we should wash up and we all agreed. We all headed into the large bathroom. We all had quick showers then stripped and jumped into the hot tub which was ready for us. We all sank into the water with sighs of relief. I had noticed that everyone had been training hard, even Yusuke and Kuwabara who usually slacked off more then half the time. The first day though everyone paid attention and worked hard. I knew that before the end of the week the others would start to slack or skip. I just pushed the thoughts away. It was no concern of mine. I looked up when I heard the door open. We all blinked at Kagome. Luckily the bubbles of the hot tub covered us. But sill everyone sank deep into the water blushing. Sounga, Rinko, and I were the only ones who didn't. Rinko was a child, Sounga was still a sword, and it just didn't bother me.

"W…what are you doing in here Kagome?" Jin asked.

"Well it is my bathroom. I'm washing to."

We saw her start to strip and looked away.

"You shouldn't with all of us here." Yusuke said.

"Well if you try anything I can beat you up." She said.

She stepped into a shower stall, shutting the tiny door, and turned the water on. The stall kept her mostly hidden from view. We only saw her legs, knee down, through the gap at the bottom, and her collar up from the top. We now all looked as she continued talking.

"Just ignore me."

She quickly scrubbed while we all didn't look at her. Finally she sighed and leaned on the door arms crossed, chin resting in her arms, letting the water run down her back. She looked at us making the others sink deeper. She just snorted and closed her eyes.

"Hey Kagome, Hiei says you guys haven't slept together." Yusuke said.

Kagome cracked her eyes open and raised an eyebrow at me. I sighed.

"They seemed hooked on the idea that you and I have been lovers."

She snorted.

"So you haven't slept together?" Kuwabara asked.

"No." Kagome said evenly.

"You must have kissed at least." Chu said.

"No." Kagome said.

"Has he at least seen you naked?" Yusuke asked.

"Yes." She answered.

Now they gaped at me. They hadn't expected that answer.

"What?" Chu asked.

"He has walked in on me bathing more then once." Kagome said.

I sighed.

"Did you do it on purpose?" Kuwabara asked slyly.

"No." I stated.

"Mmh." They all said as if the didn't believe me.

I just sighed and closed my eye. Finally I heard a splash. Sounga had gotten out. Kagome just glanced at him once before closing her eyes again. Rinko got out next.

"Uh…Kagome will you not look for a minute?" Jin asked.

Kagome smirked and purposely watched us. I just sighed and grabbed a towel I had left by the hot tub. I grabbed it and wrapped it around me as I got out. Kagome walked out of the shower at the same time. She also wrapped a towel around herself, and then walked to her clothes. Everyone looked away as she pulled them on. Then she helped Rinko who had some how managed to get his neck through a sleeve. After wards Sounga, Rinko, Kagome, and I marched off. I heard the others get out after we left. Sounga turned to Kagome as we walked up the stairs.

"You bathed with them on purpose." He said.

I blinked and she grinned.

"If they don't get used to seeing a naked female then anyone female can catch them. They mustn't be embarrassed or surprised at seeing one or a female can take advantage of that." She said.

I nodded in agreement. Sounga also nodded. We continued up the stairs. When we reached the garage, Kagome left the trap door open and headed for the kitchen. By the time we started to eat the others had joined us. After dinner we split to our rooms. We were all tired and fell asleep relatively quickly. 'At least I know I'm using my time training well.' I thought as I drifted off to sleep.

--

For the next two weeks we trained everyday from eight till eight. We bathed together and the others started to relax a bit. They didn't even sink lower into the water when Kagome appeared they just averted their eyes. Then one day Kagome didn't join us in our training. The next morning we walked into the training grounds to find Kagome waiting. She looked at all of us and then cleared her throat.

"I got someone special to help us with training. You all already know her and she has agreed to help."

We all blinked and waited. Suddenly Yusuke went flying forwards past us, landing in the lake. He broke the surface spluttering and starring while pointing behind us.

"You should have been able to sense me before I threw you." A voice said.

I blinked as I recognized the voice. We all turned and starred at Genkai. She stood there, arms behind her back, looking blank in her usual outfit.

"How?" Yusuke asked.

"You have Kagome to thank. She asked Koenma to see if my spirit could come back for a while. Then she gave me a body."

"I got her to help you train your spiritual power. She did it before and I thought she could continue. I could teach you but I don't know her style and I don't have time." Kagome said.

We nodded. Then Genkai smiled. It wasn't a soft warm smile. I saw Yusuke shrink a bit.

"It's good to be back if just for a while. I'll whip you back into shape, if it takes the whole month and a half till the tournament."

Yusuke gulped. He finally pulled himself from the water.

"You are all lucky you met Kagome. She is a wonder." Genkai said.

We all nodded. Then she walked to Sounga.

"You aren't alive or dead but you used to be a demon dragon."

"I'm the sword of hell, Sounga. I used to fight with the great dog general Inutaisho. But then he died and his sons sent me to hell. I got out but then Kagome got me." He grumbled. "Then she gave me a body so I could train."

She nodded. Then Genkai turned to Yusuke who shivered slightly.

"Let's begin."

Genkai and Yusuke trained all day together and we stayed away from them. When it was finally time to quit Yusuke was the first one in the bath. When Genkai and Kagome walked into the baths we looked away. Kagome stripped and jumped into the shower. Genkai blinked then slowly sat on one of the benches.

"Good idea." She said to Kagome.

Only Sounga, Rinko, Kagome, and I knew what she meant. Kagome nodded and smiled.

--

For the next month and a week we trained. Genkai trained Yusuke most of the time but did give us tips and advice. Kagome did the same. I noticed that Sounga was also getting stronger, even though he was a sword. I didn't know if Kagome improved because she never released her power. She either switched between different hand to hand combat styles of used weapons. I knew she had miko powers and I wondered if she worked on those once in a while. The others also improved of course but I didn't pay them much mind. Every night when we took bathes, Genkai sat on the bench and talked while Kagome showered then joined us in the hot tub. Soon we didn't even look away when she stepped in. No one cared much anymore. Finally two days before the tournament arrived. We all packed up and got ready to leave. The tournament was going to be on the same island. A boat, like last time, was going to pick us up. We met Keiko, Yusuke's mom, Kuwabara's sister, Kagome's brother, who after many hours of begging had got to come, and my sister at the dock. We also met Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, and their gang.

"Hey guys!" Kagome yelled waving.

I noticed that some demons around us were muttering and pointing to us and some looked at Kagome lustfully.

"Keh, took you long enough." Inuyasha growled.

"Now Inuyasha don't be like that." Kikyo said.

"Keh."

Kagome laughed and greeted the others. We all boarded the boat. Sounga, I noticed, watched Sesshomaru and Inuyasha closely, studying them with cold calculating eyes. I could tell he didn't like them at all. When the boat took off, the people who were going to watch were ushered into a different part of the boat while the contestants had to destroy some demons to prove they weren't a waste of time. The referee chuckled, as our team stepped up, and looked at Kagome.

"Hehehe. Good luck babe. If you don't get killed we could spend some… quality time together."

"As if." Kagome grumbled.

The other demons jumped forwards. In about two minutes Jin's group, Sesshomaru's group, and our group were the only ones left standing. More then fifty other bodies were scattered on the boats. The referee was starring and his jaw was touching the ground. We all headed for our rooms. It was past sunset and I saw the others yawn. Suddenly I spotted Sesshomaru coming towards us. Sounga who had been talking to Kagome glared once then walked away past him towards our rooms. Sesshomaru paused briefly as he passed then looked at him closely as he walked away. He then walked over to us.

"Who is that? I saw him come with you."

"That is Sou." Kagome said cheerfully.

Sesshomaru looked at her a moment then nodded. I noticed Kagome hadn't lied she had just shortened his name.

"I wished to say just because we are allies on certain levels and friends I will not hold back. I hope to fight you."

Kagome grinned.

"I will not hold back either. And I also hope to fight you."

He nodded then walked off to his wife who was waiting by the door looking over the dead demon bodies. Kagome grinned and headed off. I followed deciding to get some sleep. I walked down the halls and realized I didn't know where I was sleeping. Suddenly Yusuke popped out a door and grinned at me.

"Hey Hiei, know where you're sleeping?"

I shook my head.

"I'll show you."

He headed down the 'hall'. It was a large ship and quite nice. Not first class but still. He suddenly stopped and opened a door for me. I looked at his sly grin and knew he was up to something. I walked in the door and he shut it. I turned on the light and looked around. There was a large bed, a nightstand, and a small dresser. I saw two bags. One was mine and the other I didn't recognize. I realized I was going to have to share the room with someone. I sighed and pulled my clock and shirt off. I also pulled my shoes off but I left my pants on. The door opened again and Kagome stepped in. We blinked at each other. I saw Kuwabara shut the door.

"I'm guessing Yusuke and Kuwabara planned this." She sighed.

I nodded. She sighed again. Then she grabbed her bag and started to strip. I respectfully turned my head. When I heard her walk to the bed I looked again. She was now wearing a pair of black baggy pants and a black tank top. She flopped onto the bed and pulled a cover on.

"Shut the light off please." She yawned.

I blinked.

"What?"

"Turn the light off before you come to bed."

I scowled.

"I'll sleep on the floor."

"Why? Then you'll be unrested in the morning and there aren't enough blankets."

I sighed and flicked the lights off. Then I slowly crawled into the bed with Kagome. I stayed near the edge. Then I slowly drifted off.

--

I woke up and blinked. I was looking directly into Kagome's face. I blinked. I had rolled over in my sleep and so had Kagome. We were both facing each other and she was centimetres from me. Just at that moment the door opened and in a flash Yusuke snapped a picture with his camera.

"Caught you!" He yelled.

Kagome stirred, sighed, and sat up.

"Doing what?" She asked.

"Sleeping together."

"So?"

He just grinned. Jin, Kuwabara, Genkai, Chu, Toya, Rinko, and Kurama walked in. Kagome sighed and jumped out of bed. Kuwabara, Chu, and Yusuke sighed.

"We thought you might have done something." Yusuke said.

Kagome just raised an eyebrow.

"But since you're both dressed its unlikely." Chu said.

Kagome just snorted and shooed the out the door. Then I pulled my shirt and cloak on. Kagome just grabbed her back pack and swung it over her shoulder, staying in the black pants and tank top. We headed out the door and up onto deck. The others all arrived a minute later. We stayed on deck as a speck of land in the distance grew. Finally we arrived at a dock. The boat lurched to a stop and we all jumped down. I looked around. The island was mostly forest as far as I could tell. I had seen some cliffs as we came in but that was it for landscape. We set off down a dirt road lined with trees.

After a kilometre we reached a large five star hotel. Like at our last tournament. It was white and had at least six stories. We walked in and blinked. Other demons were signing in. As soon as we walked in everyone looked up. Some muttered our team name and pointed at Yusuke. Others looked at the women. And surprisingly a few bowed to Sesshomaru. We walked up to the front desk. A tall demon looked at us and asked our names. He checked them off in a book and handed us keys telling us our rooms. Our three teams were all beside each other on the fifth floor. We thanked him and headed up. When we reached our rooms we split.

We walked into our room and blinked. We were in a living room. I saws six connecting door, and a kitchen. We blinked. It was like a house. We opened the eight doors to find bedrooms with connecting bathrooms. We all came up with a plan and split into groups of two: Keiko and Yusuke, Kuwabara's sister Shizuru and Yusuke's mom Atsuko, Kuwabara and my sister Yukina, and Kagome's brother Souta, Kurama, Genkai and Sounga and Kagome and I. I first threatened Kuwabara about touching my sister. Everyone knew that she was my sister now. I saw Yusuke, Kuwabara, Yusuke's mom, and Keiko grin when it was announced that Kagome and I had to share a room. We both sighed and headed to our room. When we had settled in we all met back in the living room. Kagome pulled out a scroll of paper and unrolled it on the small coffee table. It was a list of the matches for the tournament. I wondered where and when she had gotten it.

"Listen, because I'm only saying this once."

We all gave her full attention.

"The tournament is different from the one you were in last year. The tournament is divided into four blocs: A, B, C, and D. In each bloc teams will fight another team. The losers either, join the crowd in watching, die, or leave. The winners move on to face another team. Then the winning team in each bloc will face one of the other winning teams. Then the two top winners will fight. We got lucky. Jin's team is in bloc A, Sesshomaru's team is in bloc C, and we are in bloc D. We will not meet each other until the final rounds. Also there are four arenas: One for each bloc. At the other end of the island is a larger arena for the last battles. As you know the winning team gets one wish. Be careful. There are some strong teams."

With that she stood up and taped the scroll to the wall. Then she walked off. I stood and walked to the scroll. Our first match was tomorrow at noon. We faced the team called 'The Devilish Clowns'. I smirked. People picked the most moronic team names. I sighed. That included my own team. We had kept our name from the last tournament: Team Urameshi. I decided to go scout the island. I told Kurama who nodded and then walked out the door. I got looks from demons who had watched the last tournament. They didn't say anything just stayed silent. But other demons laughed and teased me. I ignored them. They would learn.

I walked out the front door and stood a moment looking around. I saw a small path leading into the trees and headed off. The island seemed nice enough. It was large and full of life. There were plants and bugs. The one thing wrong was that there were no animals, and no birds stayed within a kilometre of the hotel. I guessed that was because of the bloodlust coming off some of the demons. I wandered around for a while. It was a boring island but it was nice to be alone, away from the morons on my team.

I stopped for a moment and listened. I heard a faint sound coming from one direction. Since I had nothing better to do I set off to find out what it was. As I came closer to the source it became louder. I soon realized it was music. I suddenly emerged from the trees to see I was at the base of one of the cliffs. I saw small ledges up the side and jumped up. I jumped from ledge to ledge till I landed softly at the top. I looked around. It was a plain area. It had lush grass all around with. There were three trees in the middle with a large boulder in front of them. The cliff itself wasn't that large, but to humans it would be impossible to reach. Even most demons wouldn't be able to get up here.

I looked to the boulder to see Kagome sitting on it with her eyes closed. She had a silver flute up to her mouth and a tune was drifting off of it. It was lovely. The tune was sad but happy, plain but captivating, and quiet yet loud. I stood and watched her. She was in the shade of the trees with a small amount of sunlight drifting through the leaves to fall on her. When a small breeze blew the leaves the sunlight danced past them and flickered off and on her creamy skin. I just stood and watched. I noticed that there were birds up in the trees too. They seemed to sing with the flute. I stood silently. When the song was ended Kagome lowered the flute. Her eyelids slowly lifted. I thought for a moment she was doing it just to annoy me. I wished to look into her beautiful soft brown eyes. I blinked these thoughts away. She looked up and smiled at me softly. Then she stood and walked over.

"Hey Hiei."

"Hi."

"Just listening?"

"Nh."

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Nh."

"I'm heading back now. It's well past supper."

I blinked and looked at the sky. The sun was at the horizon. I nodded and followed her as she headed down the cliff. I was stunned when she didn't jump from ledge to ledge but just dropped the distance. Even if I had done that I would have broken a leg or two. She just landed softly and looked up with a grin.

"How?" I asked.

"A secret." She replied.

I shrugged and touched the ground. We both walked off silently. When we reached the hotel we walked in. There were still demons signing in. The lounge, though was almost empty. The few demons there ignored us. We walked past them and headed up the stairs to our room. When we reached our room we walked in. Everyone was there including Sesshomaru's team and Jin's team. Some were playing cards, some drinking, some lounging, some arguing, and some talking. When we walked in they all waved.

"Hey Kagome will you cook?" Inuyasha asked

"Yeah."

"Make ramen." He said.

"You had it five hundred years ago and you probably ate it ever since it was invented. Aren't you sick of it yet?"

"No."

Kagome sighed and headed for the kitchen. I noticed Sesshomaru and Kurama quietly talking on a couch. Sounga was in a shadowed corner watching Sesshomaru and Inuyasha again. Suddenly Kagome's brother ran up to me. I blinked at him. He looked at me with a thoughtful expression. I grabbed a glass of water and ignored him as I took a gulp.

"Are you really my sister's boyfriend? They said you two have been together for five hundred years and had a couple of kids."

I spit out most of my water and choked on the little I didn't swallow. As I coughed violently Souta just waited. Kurama and Sesshomaru raised their eyebrows at me. They had heard, unfortunately so had Inuyasha.

"What?! You and Kagome have a kid!?" He yelled

Everyone in the room shut up and gaped at us, except Sesshomaru, Kurama, and Sounga.

"What!?" They all asked.

Everyone surrounded me and started to babble questions. I rubbed my temples and resisted the urge to kill them all.

"SHUT UP!" A voice yelled.

Everyone silenced. Kagome was standing in the door way and looking ticked off.

"Who said we had a kid?" she asked coldly.

"I heard Souta say that." Inuyasha said.

Kagome raised her eyebrow at her brother.

"Yusuke and Kuwabara told me." He said.

Kagome glared at them. They grinned sheepishly.

"We might have said that." They said.

"We do not have a kid! We are not lovers, and we are not going to be lovers so shut it and let me cook in peace!" She snapped.

Everyone fell silent but once she was gone they turned to me.

"So you aren't lovers?" Yukina asked.

"No." I sighed. "We met five hundred years ago and are just friends."

"Really?" Genkai asked.

"Can I not have a friend that is a girl and who isn't my girlfriend?" I asked.

"No." Yusuke and Kuwabara chorused.

I sighed and headed to the kitchen to refill my cup of water. When I stepped in Kagome was humming and walking around cooking. I quickly refilled my cup. I was about to take a drink when Souta walked in. I decided to wait in case he had more questions. He just glanced at me then walked to Kagome. I drank my water.

"Kagome, you said you had something for me?"

"Oh! Yes I'll go get it."

Then she ran from the room. I waited, curious. When she came back she was carrying two wooden cases. She put them on the counter and snapped one open. We all looked in to see four identical daggers, a short knife, and two smaller daggers. Souta gaped.

"Wow!" He said.

"They're for you."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Thanks!"

Kagome showed him where to put them. He strapped two to his lags and two to his arms. Then the two smaller ones stayed in his boots and the knife at his waist. Then he shot off telling us he was going to show Inuyasha. Then Kagome waved me over and snapped the second case open. Now I starred with my mouth wide open. It was a sword like mine but it wasn't ordinary. It was black with a red hilt. It was perfect. It looked sharp too. Kagome pulled it from the case and handed it to me. It was the perfect weight and length. I swung it and the tip whistled through the air.

"It's for you."

I whipped my head up and starred at her.

"What?"

"I got it for you. Totosi made it."

"_THE_ Totosi? Isn't he the legendary smith?"

"Yeah."

"I heard he retired."

"He did two hundred years ago. I had it made after our tenth meeting before he retired."

I starred.

"It is strong enough to surround with fire and not melt, vaporize, or break. It is almost indestructible. I guess that Sesshomaru's Tokijin, Sounga, or Inuyasha's Tetsiaga might have a one in a thousand chance of breaking it."

I just looked over the sword again.

"Thanks." I finally said.

"You're welcome."

Then she returned to cooking. I just continued to inspect the sword. Then I snapped it back in its case and put it in our room. When I returned to the living room Souta was whipping his daggers at a target and the others were cheering him on. I noticed he got the bull's eye almost every time. 'He's good.' I admitted. Suddenly Kagome came from the kitchen carrying the pots of food. Yukina, Kikyo, Rin, and Keiko also helped her. When the food was all dished out everyone dug in and started to babble. When dinner was finished the girls cleaned again. Then we all said goodnight and the other two teams headed to their rooms while we all headed to our rooms. Kagome and I stepped into our room and turned the lamps by the bed on. I sighed. Kagome started to strip as she headed for the bathroom. She didn't even bother to close the door as she got in the shower. When she emerged she was dripping wet and ready for bed. I just tore my shirt and boots off. Then I laid on the bed. Kagome flopped down beside me and stripped to her underwear and tank top. I blinked. She looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't it uncomfortable sleeping in your pants?"

"Nh."

"I don't care if you sleep in just your boxers."

"Nh."

"I have seen you naked so it's not embarrassing."

"Nh."

She shrugged. I thought a moment then did take my pants off. We both sighed and turned our lamps off.

--

I woke in the morning and sat up. It was sunrise. I blinked and sat on the edge of the bed. I looked to where Kagome had been sleeping to see that she was gone. I pulled my pants on and my shirt on. I carried my shoes out of the room and shut the door behind me. I found Kagome in the kitchen having some cereal. She smiled at me and I grabbed an apple eating it quickly. By the time I had finished Kagome was also done.

"I'm going out." I said.

She nodded and I headed off to go for another walk. She also stood and followed me outside. When we stepped outside we both split and went separate directions.

Tokiya's POV:

"Where is she damn it!" Recca yelled at the top of his lungs.

Kaoru, Recca, Yanagi, Fuko, Domon, and I had come to this tournament a couple days ago. We had known about demons for more than a year now. The tournament with Kurei was two years ago. It had been boring since then. Then we had found out about demons and came to this tournament. We had come a couple days early to check the place out. We had found out we were in bloc B. The demons around here whispered a lot about three teams in particular. They were the teams that were said to most likely win and the ones the sponsors were all betting on.

One was the 'Jewel Shards'. The team was made of Lord Sesshomaru, the demon lord of the west, his son Inutaisho, his brother Inuyasha a half demon, his vassal Jaken, and a fox demon Shippo. They were all renowned for using the last wishes of the sacred jewel and destroying Naraku. The second team was 'The Shadows'. It consisted of Jin the famous wind demon, Toya an ice master, Chu a unique demon, and a human child named Rinko who had strong spiritual power. The third team was 'Team Urameshi'. They were the winners of the last tournament. Their team was made of two humans who had some of the largest spiritual power in the world, a fox demon named Kurama, who was very well know in the demon realm, Hiei a fire demon, he was known as a villain, a strong one, and the last person was a mystery. The last player in the last tournament had been a martial arts master named Genkai but she had died and they had gotten a new person. They had also won the last tournament.

Right now Recca, Kaoru, Fuko, Domon, and I were looking for Yanagi. She had stepped out of the hotel a moment then disappeared. They discouraged killing before the tournament, but there were no rules about raping or torturing victims and you could kill but you could get in trouble too. Recca was furious. So were the rest of us. Suddenly I felt a demon presence in front of us. We burst through the trees into a clearing. There were four large demons: One boar, one pig, one wolf, and one cougar. They all smirked and cackled at us. They stood like humans and had clothing on. Yanagi was held by one who had a knife to her throat. We all froze.

"Let her go!" Kaoru yelled.

The boar and pig snorted.

"No."

"We just need some entertainment, and we wouldn't mind this girl as a concubine." The wolf said.

We all tensed at the wolf demons words. Yanagi had tears streaming down her face but she wasn't doing anything. There was nothing she could do.

"I'll kill you if you touch her." Recca hissed.

"No killing or we kill her." They chanted.

"I doubt you could kill us anyways." The wolf howled.

"What is going on here?"

We all turned to see a woman walk into the clearing. She had long black hair in a ponytail. Her eyes were a soft brown, and she had small fangs and claws, with pointed ears. She had a long knife at her belt and looked calm. She wore black pants and a tank top. She was a demon. I couldn't tell how powerful though since she blocked that. She stopped and stood straight.

"I asked a question." She said coldly.

"Ooh, boys we found another concubine too. This ones even demon." The boar said cruelly.

I saw Recca start to move. I grabbed him. If he ran forwards they would hurt Yanagi. I saw the demoness look over all of the demons then us. I felt something go through me. I shivered. It felt as if she had just searched my soul. She smiled slightly at us then turned to the four demons.

"Put her down." She said commandingly.

"As if." The pig snorted.

"If you do not I won't kill you but I will torture you." She said evenly.

Her face was blank. The demons all laughed and the wolf pulled Yanagi back as the other three stepped in front. I saw the wolf pin Yanagi to a tree and pull out a knife. He started to cut down her dress. I saw what he was going to do. His buddies would keep us busy while he raped her. Yanagi was struggling now the tears still streaming. The demoness sighed.

"I told you to put her down."

The demons laughed. The woman sighed again and pulled her knife out. The demons laughed and advanced with clubs. One swung at her legs. She jumped and almost to fast for me to see she lashed out with her foot kicking him in the gut. His eyes bulged. He didn't even have time to cry out before he was lying ten feet away unconscious. Everyone else stared. Then the cougar snarled and leapt forwards. She waited then jumped past him quickly. The cougar landed a lit ways away from her and looked confused. She hadn't done anything. Then suddenly his arm fell to the ground cut off. We all gaped. He fell to the ground yelling. Then the boar charged. The woman flipped over him and drove her knife into him. It stuck right through one leg. She pulled it out quickly spraying blood everywhere. The boar howled and wheeled to her. She brought her knife up and in one fluid motion cut his throat. The blood sprayed out and covered the woman. The wolf snarled.

"She's dead!" He growled and brought his knife up.

Recca dived for them but he was too late. The wolf brought his knife down. We all closed our eyes waiting for the scream. We opened our eyes and gaped. A pink barrier surrounded Yanagi who had her eyes clamped shut. The wolf starred.

"You are a miko." He gasped.

"Part miko." The woman said.

Suddenly she threw a dagger. It lodged in the wolf's heart. He fell to the ground, his eyes still wide. Recca ran to Yanagi. He grabbed her and pulled her away from the bodies so she couldn't see. Then we left the clearing quickly. We came upon another small one and stopped. We all turned to the demoness, except Recca who was comforting Yanagi.

"Thank you." I said.

She nodded.

"Why did you help?" Fuko asked.

"Because I could and you needed it."

We nodded.

"So who are you?" Domon asked.

She smiled warmly and we forgot she was covered in blood.

"My name is Kagome."

"Hi, I'm Domon, that's Fuko, Recca, Kaoru, Tokiya, and Yanagi."

We all nodded at our name.

"Nice to meet you." Kagome said with a bow of her head. "Are you in the tournament?" She asked.

"Yes. We're team Hokage!" Kaoru said cheerfully.

"Well then maybe we will fight each other." She said.

"What team are you on?" I asked.

"Team Urameshi." She said.

I blinked.

"That Team?" I asked.

"Yes."

"You are popular among the sponsors." I said.

"Yes but not among the crowd. They won't like you either. The crowd hates humans, and no matter how much you win you will not win them over."

I nodded.

"Kagome."

I looked at the man entering the clearing. He had spiky black hair and wore a black t-shirt and pants. He looked bored and I looked him over. He was good if I hadn't sensed him till he spoke.

"Oh, hello Hiei."

I blinked. This was Hiei the fire master and on team Urameshi.

"What happened?" He asked looking at the blood soaked woman.

"Oh, I fell into a puddle of blood that these guys left."

I raised an eyebrow like Hiei.

"Kagome, I have known you for five hundred years, you can't lie to me.

We all gaped.

"You're five hundred?" Domon asked.

"Actually I'm five hundred and nineteen."

"Demons are immortal moron." Hiei said.

"I'm not a moron!" Domon yelled.

"You sure look like a moron."

Fuko, Kaoru, and Recca burst into laughter.

"Now Hiei don't tease them; you can tease Yusuke or Kuwabara when we get back. They are sure to have many questions about what we did last night."

Hiei growled.

"I should just kill them now."

"Maybe later, but we need them for now." She grinned.

We were ignored through this. Suddenly I spun and held up sword. A demon with red hair and horns was behind me. He looked bored.

"What are you doing here Sounga?" Kagome asked.

"I ditched the weak morons." The demon answered.

"Nh." Hiei said.

"Yusuke and Kuwabara are after you too. They have a new plan on how to get you two to sleep together."

Hiei and Kagome sighed.

"What?" I asked a little lost.

"Our team mates have a brilliant idea that we should be lovers." Kagome sighed.

"They won't leave us alone till we sleep together." Hiei said.

"Well I'm going." Sounga said.

Suddenly he was gone.

"Show off!" Kagome yelled. "Well we have to go to."

"Bye, thank you Kagome." Yanagi said.

"See you later."

With that the two walked off.

"Well they seem nice." Recca said.

"Yeah." Fuko said.

I nodded.

Hiei's POV:

After I found Kagome with the Team Hokage we headed off through the trees. Our match was scheduled to be in a half an hour. We hurried back to the hotel. Yusuke, Kurama, and Kuwabara were already waiting for us.

"Finally you're here! The others already left to get seats." Yusuke said.

We nodded.

"Well we're leaving now." Kuwabara said.

Yusuke and Kuwabara headed out the door. Kurama glanced at us once and followed.

"I'll catch up in a minute. Just have to change." Kagome said.

I shrugged and followed the others. We quickly arrived at the stadium. We walked to our arena and looked around. The stadium was full of people and I noticed three large TVs high on the wall. Each one showed the other arenas. The other contestants weren't there. Their match would be an hour after we began. I saw our opponents on the other side of the arena. They all had a clown costume on. I frowned. They looked ridiculous but I guessed they could have quite a few weapons in the clothes so we had to be careful. I saw our friends in the crowd waving to us. I also saw Hokage, The Jewel Shards, and The Shadows watching from the crowd. As soon as we walked in the crowd booed. I saw the Devilish clowns smirk at us. A referee stepped up. Suddenly I saw Kagome walk in. She was wearing the same black pants but the gathered in at her ankles so she couldn't trip on them. Her shirt was a long sleeve black one. It was skin tight so the enemy couldn't grab it. Then her hair was in a tight braid that fell to her lower back. She had black gloves on and a scarf around her neck, like a bandana. I saw her knife strapped on at her waist along with a dagger on her arm and I guessed she had some other blades hidden. She walked while looking every where. The referee tapped the microphone to make sure it was working. The referee was a demon girl with cat ears and a tail wearing a tight outfit.

"Well ladies and gentlemen, it is the beginning of the 'Bloodlust Tournament'. First teams up are 'The devilish clowns…."

Everyone cheered and yelled to the clowns to beat us.

"Verses Team Urameshi!"

Everyone booed except our friends.

"Will the team captains step up?"

We all looked at each other.

"Who's captain?" Kuwabara asked. "Is it Yusuke like last year?"

"I say Kagome should be captain." Sounga said.

I noticed he had joined us.

"Yeah." Yusuke said. "I think she's the strongest and she let us train at her place and helped us train."

We all nodded.

"Team Urameshi please send up your captain." The referee said.

We all nodded to Kagome who nodded a yes and stepped to the arena.

"What kind of battle will you have?" The referee asked.

"How about a one on one till the other guys are gone. If you win you face the next guy." The leader of the Devilish Clowns said.

"I agree." Kagome said calmly.

The crowd yelled and cheered as the captains stepped down from the elevated arena. One of the other clowns jumped onto the stage.

"I'll go first." Kuwabara said.

"No. I want too." Yusuke said.

We all argued a moment. Finally we did rock, paper, scissors. The order went Kuwabara, Kagome, Yusuke, Kurama, and then me. I sighed. I most likely wouldn't get to fight. The clown on stage sneered at Kuwabara as he jumped onto stage.

"Get Ready!" The referee yelled.

The crowd fell quiet and Kuwabara and the clown got ready.

"Fight!"

The crowd erupted in noise. The clown lunged and Kuwabara brought his spiritual sword out. The clown pulled some clothes out of his sleeve. The clothe fell to the ground and he held one end of the tied clothes in his hand. It looked like he was doing a magic trick. Then he whipped the 'rope' at Kuwabara. Kuwabara yelled as it wrapped around his leg like a snake and pulled him off balance. The clown dived at him ready to kill him with a flower which its stem was a giant needle. Kuwabara rolled just in time to make the needle miss his heart but it still stabbed him in the arm. He cried out and the crowd cheered.

"What are you doing Kuwabara? That's no way to fight!" Yusuke's mom yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Come on Kuwabara!" Yukina yelled.

Suddenly Kuwabara perked up. He rolled and sprang to his feet. His aurora sword changed to a shield as the clown threw blades disguised as spots on his clothes. Kuwabara cursed at the clown and then lunged forwards. I noticed now the two were throwing insults at each other.

"Where is the birthday party, fatty?"

"Where is the moron convention?"

"You're a clown who can't even make me laugh."

"You're a moron who can't even hit me once."

They continued as they slashed at each other. Then suddenly the clown tripped. His eyes widened behind his make up as he tripped and stumbled. Kuwabara lunged forwards. His sword entered the clowns chest. I saw the clowns frown. The clown who had been stabbed fell to the ground. Kuwabara's sword had missed vital areas but the clown was still in bad condition. A medic demon walked up and grabbed him, dragging him non-to gently away. The leader clown stepped forwards and Kuwabara laughed. The referee yelled 'begin' again and Kuwabara leapt. I noticed this clown was much stronger then the last. The clown stood arms crossed across his chest looking straight ahead till Kuwabara was almost on top of him. Then he smirked and pressed the flower in his pocket. A small cloud of purple gas shot out smothering Kuwabara. Kuwabara accidentally breathed it all in. Then he dropped to the ground and went white. He gaped and fell. Yusuke called out to him, but he didn't move. The referee started the count. I noticed Kagome was frowning.

"That was poison." She said.

Yusuke's eyes widened and as soon as the count was finished he grabbed Kuwabara and dragged him towards the infirmary. We all watched him go as the crowd cheered the clowns on.

Tokiya's POV:

We were all sitting watching the match. Fuko, Domon, Recca, Kaoru, and Yanagi were cheering Urameshi on. I saw Kuwabara get dragged away and knew he had been poisoned. I saw Kagome step forwards and watched her closely. She was perfectly calm. She pulled her black gloves on tighter and pulled the bandana on her neck up to her face. It looked like a mask and covered her face, nose down. I guessed it would block poison gas or such. She jumped lightly onto the stage. She walked to the center of the arena and looked at the clown. When the referee said begin they stood still. To most people it looked like they were just standing but they were actually sizing each other up and slowly getting ready. Suddenly Kagome lunged. The clown pushed the button again and the cloud of poison squirted out. Kagome dodged the poison and shot behind the clown.

"That won't work a second time." I heard her say.

We were right at the front of the bleachers and I could hear almost every word they said. Suddenly a yellow cloud shot out of the clown's shoes. It covered the whole arena. I blinked as I realized the arena had a barrier around it to keep gases in. The whole arena filled with yellow fog and we couldn't see anything. Suddenly in a flash of pink the gas in the arena purified. We gaped at the two fighters. Kagome now stood ready to leave and the clown was on the ground dead. I saw blood on her knife and the clown's throat was slashed. I guessed what had happened.

"They don't have any cares about killing here." Kaoru said.

"No they don't."

I looked up at the voice. A small kid in red clothes with a base ball cap on and three star tattoos on his cheek was crouched on the back of my seat. He looked younger then Kaoru. We blinked at him.

"I hope you don't mind killing, because if you do then you are at a disadvantage." The boy said.

I nodded and the others looked at him.

"Who are you?" Kaoru asked.

"My name is Rinko, I'm on the 'Shadows' team."

I blinked. I had known they had a kid on their team but I had at least expected a teen, this kid looked to be ten. Suddenly a puff of wind pushed him forwards and he fell to the ground.

"Rinko leave them alone." A demon said.

I looked up and recognized Jin. The other people on the 'shadows' team were sitting behind us.

"Go Kagome!" A demon with auburn hair, and a human boy yelled from in front of us.

I looked back at the arena and realized Kagome was fighting another demon. I knew she was going to win. I looked back at the others.

"I know you are the 'shadows'." I said pointing to them, "Who are you?" I asked the group in front of us.

The boy with black hair was Souta, Kagome's brother. The demon with auburn hair was Shippo, he was on team 'Jewel Shards'. There was also Sesshomaru, demon lord of the west, Inuyasha his brother, a hanyou, Jaken, Sesshomaru's vassal, and Inutaisho Sesshomaru's son. They were all on the 'Jewel shards'. Then there was Yusuke's mom, who was drunk and yelling at the top of her lungs, Kuwabara's sister who was calmly watching the match, Keiko Yusuke's girlfriends, Botan, a spirit guide, Koenma, the prince of the underworld, and Yukina, Hiei's sister. They all cheered on Kagome. Kagome had disposed of her second opponent and was finishing her third opponent off. When that was done she jumped from the arena and let Yusuke kill the last. Yusuke didn't kill him though, just punched the living daylights from him. When they were finished they walked off. I watched the one called Sounga closely. He wasn't human but he didn't seem completely demon.

"They're good." Fuko said.

"Yeah." Recca said.

Suddenly another set of teams stepped up to the arena. I turned back to the 'shadows'.

"Do you guys know Team Urameshi?" I asked.

"Yes." Jin said.

"Are they strong? I mean are the other people strong?" Recca interrupted.

The 'Shadows' all nodded.

"Would you like to meet them?" Rinko asked.

We all blinked at him.

"Could we?" Yanagi asked.

"Sure, if you want I can take you to them now." Rinko said.

We all looked at one another then nodded. We all stood and with some complaints made it past the other spectators. I noticed that all the 'shadows' and the 'Jewel shards' also stood and followed us. When we got outside they all headed for the hotel. We followed the boy Rinko. We walked through the hotel stopping at one door. We knocked and then entered. We were greeted by a grinning Kagome, a blank Hiei, a groaning Kuwabara, a scowling Yusuke and a bored Kurama. They were all standing in a living room. Everyone filed in and we were dragged into. The door shut and everyone exploded in noise. There were congratulations and yelling. We stood off to the side watching the whole thing.

"SIT BOY!" rang out.

Suddenly Inuyasha fell to the floor hard. The rest of the room burst into laughter.

"So you are team Hokage?"

We all whipped around to look at Sesshomaru. He looked blank and bored. We nodded. Suddenly Yusuke was flung into Recca.

"Hey!" Yusuke shouted at Inuyasha.

Recca twitched and threw Yusuke back. Then Yusuke, Recca, and Inuyasha started to fight. 'Well they hit it off fast.' I thought. I noticed that Yanagi had joined Yukina. Fuko was currently popping up near everyone and asking them questions, and Domon was chasing after her saying 'Come back my little flower'. Everyone else was doing total random things and such too. I leaned against the wall. I noticed the Hiei, Kurama, Sounga, and Sesshomaru were calm and watching this with bored eyes. I sighed at my gang and watched them to make sure they didn't get into trouble. Suddenly a knife came whipping at me. I snatched it from the air and looked at it. I looked to be a plain enough knife. I wondered if we had any enemies in this group. Suddenly Souta came running forwards.

"Sorry guess my aim was a little off."

I blinked and handed back his knife. He ran off again.

"That was good, for a human." Hiei said.

"Nh." I replied.

He looked at me carefully.

"You control ice and water."

I nodded wondering how he knew. Then he looked at Recca.

"He controls fire?" He asked.

I nodded. Suddenly I was clubbed on the head.

"Come one Tokiya! Show them your sword!" Kaoru yelled.

I scowled at him. Sesshomaru, Kurama, Hiei, and Sounga looked at me. I sighed.

"I need some water." I said.

A water bottle was instantly tossed to me by Kagome who joined us. I sighed again and pulled out Ensu. They looked at the small hilt and dagger end. Then I poured the water on. It formed the sword quickly. They looked a bit surprised.

"Do you all have weapons like those?" Sesshomaru asked.

"These are all ninja made weapons that give users certain powers. Like some gives you control of paper, wind, gravity, hair, and such. This one also relies on my ability. Even if you have it, it does not mean you can control water." I said calmly.

"So you are ninja's?" Kurama asked.

"No. Yanagi is a girl with special healing powers, Kaoru is an ordinary boy with a weapon and quick mind, Fuko is a girl with weapons and stubbornness, Domon is a punk with muscle and weapons, and I am a boy with sword lessons."

"What about Recca?" Kagome asked.

"He is a ninja. He also has fire control power." I said.

"Should you be telling us all this?' Sounga asked.

"Why not? We all know about you." I said.

They slowly nodded.


	11. Ninja Miko Part 1 : Crossover

Naraku, the evil hanyou, who wants the Shikon No Tama. He uses trickery, traps, puppets, and vassals to do his doings instead of sullying his own hand. He used to be a human bandit but let the demons consume his body. He made many enemies. A monk with a wind tunnel, the last slayer, a hanyou, a dead miko, a taiyoukai, a fire cat, a kitsune, a wolf clan and its leader, many unknown demons, and finally a reincarnation from the future. He has made incarnations of him self, such as Kagura of the wind, Kanna of the mirror, and more who are now dead. Then he finally separated his heart from his body. He put his heart into a small infant. You may think, the poor child. But in truth the child was an incarnation of Naraku and not a normal innocent infant. No it was an infant who could control the darkness in people's hearts. Also somewhere along the line the child was cut in half. Half became a separate being who grew into a child of ten or so and who got a nice fiery horsy, and a pointy spear, while the second half remained an infant with Naraku's heart, left with Kagura and Kohaku.

Naraku is not the character I'm focusing on though. The character this story is about is the reincarnation of Kikyo, the miko from the future, Kagome. She fell down her well on her shrine at age fifteen. She fell through time to five hundred years in the past, she was the Shikon No Miko and she had the Shikon no Tama in her body. She had travelled with the hanyou Inuyasha, the monk Miroku, the Kitsune Shippo, the slayer Sango, and the neko Kirara. She had travelled with them for two and a half years. There quest was to kill Naraku and get the Shikon No Tama's shards. They did not do this in two and a half years.

No, they travelled together for this time but most never completed the mission. When Kagome was seventeen and a half there was a battle. It was the last one most of the companions would have. They battled with Naraku, Kagura, Kanna, and Kohaku, while Naraku's heart was safe out of reach in the child Akago. The hanyou, the slayer, the monk, the neko, the kitsune, the dead miko, the monk, the wolf leader, and Kagome all went into battle. All but Kagome were killed. They died one by one, side by side. No one knows how Kagome escaped, and no one knows where she went. She vanished without a trace. No one saw her leave but the dead and many believed her to be dead. But no she wasn't dead….. She was very much alive.

Author's POV:

Sesshomaru stood up. He sniffed the wind cautiously. He could not smell, hear, or sense anything but something was coming. He felt it. He glanced at A-un who lay oblivious. He saw Jaken leaning against the dragons side with Rin cuddled up to the two. He sniffed the wind again but still no scent. He slowly walked to a large tree and sat against it, but he didn't plan on sleeping tonight. He stood watching his surroundings carefully. He watched the deep shadows. He was wary of an attack. It had been a month since he had last smelt Naraku and he wondered where the hanyou had gone. He hated to admit it but it had been useful having his brother alive, because Inuyasha would travel around looking for Naraku all the time, when Sesshomaru could only do it in his spare time since he was busy as the lord of the west. He had been surprised to find Inuyasha dead; Him, the slayer, the monk, the neko, the kitsune, the dead miko, and the wolf; all dead. He had shown up on the battle grounds to find Naraku fleeing, wounded, and to find the group dead.

He had not found the miko that wore skimpy clothes though. He had no notion of where she went. He had smelled her all over the battle field then on the edge of it she had vanished. He had smelled no scent of death so he guessed she was alive, but he did not know how she had 'vanished'. He had looked for her for a while but hadn't found her either. He shook the thoughts off as he saw a shadow in the trees moving. A moment later a woman stepped from the trees. She wore an icy blue kimono with black trim and black lilies all over the hem. She had long raven black tresses that fell to her waist, deep blue eyes, lips as red as blood and a beautiful body that filled out in all the right places. She was beautiful. She was human too. He stood quickly as he saw the bundle in her arms. In her arms was an infant with light purple hair and violet eyes. The infant was asleep. 'Naraku's heart container.' Sesshomaru thought. He watched the pair warily. Then he blinked. He sniffed the air. He looked at the woman and scowled. He could not smell or sense her.

"I have a barrier around me."

Her voice was like chimes in the wind. He blinked. She had to be a miko to put up a barrier. His eyes widened as he looked the woman over again. It was the miko who had traveled with his brother. He looked at her closely. She had changed. She had vanished, a year and a half ago. She had been almost a child but now she had grown. He looked in her eyes and blinked. Her eyes showed despair and mental exhaustion. He also noticed the two swords at her waist. He could see she wore a black bag on her back too. Suddenly she sighed. She seemed tired. She sat abruptly. Sesshomaru stayed standing and watching her. She looked up at him and then laid the infant on her lap smiling at him slightly.

"What are you doing here Kagome, you vanished a year and a half ago."

Her eyes widened as he called her by her name. Then she smiled softly.

"I did not vanish I just walked off."

"Walked? Or ran away?"

"I walked off Sesshomaru. I couldn't take it anymore but if I had ran it would have destroyed the last clasp holding my panic in. I would have just broken down so I had to calmly walk away."

"Tell me, how did they die?"

She looked up at him and he saw even worse despair, anguish, and dejection. She looked like she had gone through so much.

"Sango died while fighting her brother. She refused to kill him and he killed her. Kirara tried to save her and died in the act. Because Kirara was no longer there to protect him, Shippo was struck down. Miroku almost went insane when he saw Sango die and just gave up, getting killed in the process by Kagura. Koga was now fighting against Kagura, Kanna, and Kohaku and soon died. Then Inuyasha, he…. Kikyo showed up and almost got hit. Inuyasha jumped in front of her and took the blow. It killed him. Kikyo was distraught she immediately released the souls in her and died with Inuyasha. That left me. What was I to do? I was outnumbered, out strengthened, and on the verge of a break down. Naraku had pulled back taunting me. I hit him with one arrow then turned and left. I left there bodies and everything behind. I just walked off without a care."

She started to laugh and Sesshomaru heard a touch of hysteria in her voice.

"I walked till I found a good place to stay. By then I had mastered my miko powers and I set up a barrier around a clearing. Then I broke down. I stayed there for days crying, screaming, anything. I finally had got it all out of me. I left and went to find someone to train me. I wanted to get stronger so I could rip Naraku's throat out and then pull his heart out and feed it to the crows. I went to the wolf clan. As soon as they heard Koga died they had to find a new leader. Koga's right hand man took charge with Koga's old left hand man as his advisor. They took me in. By then I was still a bit insane with grief. I let them take me in. It took a couple days but I finally got under enough control to think straight. The wolf clan said I was still their sister. They let me stay with them, and they taught me how to use weapons, fight hand to hand, hunt, a whole manner of things. I learned very quickly. They said it was because I was so focused and determined to do something I just pushed myself. I did do that. Well after eight months I left them. I had learned all I could from them. I just walked off one day with a quick good bye not really planning what I was going to do. I had decided after a while that I was strong enough to go kill Naraku"

There was silence a minute. He looked at this woman.

"Well I went to Totosi and got a sword first. Then I set off to find Naraku….I found him. He was with the infant Akago, his heart. He, Kagura, Kana, Kohaku, Hakudoushi, and Akago his heart; all in one place. As I walked in on them they laughed and thought they out strengthened me. But they were wrong... I easily disposed of Kohaku, Kanna, and Kagura. Naraku just waved his hand and said they were nothing compared to him. I fought him and he thought he could win."

She laughed, a deep sound, sickly with twisted amusement.

"I didn't kill him. I did something else. His heart was left open. I dived in and got him. I was going to kill this infant but when he actually asked me to kill him, to free him from Naraku, when he thanked me as I was about to kill him, I changed my mind. I used some miko spell I had learned and made him and Hakudoushi, one. But I let Akago stay in charge. Then I sealed Naraku away, so that he was trapped, never to be free again. It also allowed Akago to become a 'normal' demon infant, not a heart container. He kept his powers though. Then I walked away with Akago. He became my adopted son. He is all I have. That happened three days ago."

She hugged the former heart container of Naraku to herself as if she let go he would die like the rest of her friends.

"What did you seal Naraku in?" Sesshomaru asked.

If she had sealed him in an object he could get free, if she had sealed him in a scroll all it would take to free him was one with spiritual powers, if she had sealed him in another demon his soul could take over the demon's soul, and if she had sealed him in a human Naraku's soul would slowly eat away at the humans soul, corrupting them.

"I sealed him inside myself."

Sesshomaru blinked. Then blinked again. Why would she seal Naraku in herself? It probably was the best answer but people would balk at the idea of having someone they hated in them. Most likely Naraku could even talk to Kagome in her mind. He watched her.

"So Naraku is gone for good?" He asked.

She nodded and reached into her kimono. She pulled out a sparkling pink jewel. Sesshomaru nodded curtly.

"Now tell me what happened to Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga? It was gone when I arrived."

Kagome smirked and motioned to her waist. Sesshomaru's eyes sharpened as he could make out Tetsusaiga in her obi.

"Hand it over." Sesshomaru said. "Please." He added as an after thought.

He knew he wouldn't be able to just take it. He didn't want to resort to force either.

"I won't just hand it over. And if you try to take it I have some miko powers that could fry you past hell."

He scowled. He knew she was saying the truth.

"But I will trade it…"

He looked at her.

"For Tenseiga."

He let out a small chuckle. He had always wanted the Tetsusaiga and hadn't wanted to the Tenseiga now this woman was doing exactly what he wanted; giving him the sword he wanted and taking the sword he did want. He had to admit that the Tenseiga had been useful saving Rin and Jaken but it could only save the same person once and they had used their 'lives' up so the sword was once again useless.

"Deal." He said.

He pulled Tenseiga from his waist and tossed it to Kagome. She in turn pulled the Tetsusaiga out of her obi and tossed it to him.

"I even removed the barrier for you." She said.

He smirked. The two slid their new swords into their obis. Suddenly Kagome stood, cradling Akago.

"I am going home now."

He looked at her.

"It was nice fighting with you."

"You could stay at my castle if you wish."

She blinked.

"I could give you a position and you could work for me. You would be treated with respect."

"Why would you do that for me?"

"Because someone as strong as you deserves respect. And you helped me kill my enemy so I owe you a bit. And…"

He cut off before adding anything else. She watched him a moment.

"Thank you Sesshomaru but I want to go home."

He wanted to say something to make her stay but he could think of nothing. He sighed softly. She smiled. She seemed a little happier then when she had first showed up. She winked at him and blew him a kiss. He rolled his eyes at the moods and actions of humans. He watched till the woman had walked into the bushes and was out of sight. Then he leaned back and let a soft sigh go again. He had Tetsusaiga and his brother and Naraku were gone. That got some of his 'to do list' out of the way

Kagome's POV:

I sighed as I walked down the familiar trail. I had been nervous about going to see Sesshomaru but I had had to tell him what had happened. And I had wanted the Tenseiga. I couldn't use the Tetsusaiga but the Tenseiga was a different story. I smiled softly. Akago yawned and his eyes fluttered open.

"Moth…. I mean Kagome-"

"You can call me mom if you want."

"Thank you mother." He smiled. "I have never had anyone to call that. I have always been alone."

He hadn't been really evil either. He was just a reincarnation forced to obey his master. I smiled at him.

"Where are we going Mother?" He asked.

"Home."

"You mean down the well you told me about to five hundred years in the future?" He asked.

"No…we're going to my real home."

"Your real home? I thought…"

"I haven't told anyone the truth. I never came from this era or the future of this dimension. I came from a different dimension. When some people targeted my father he threw me in the well. He had been worried about dying and about the assassins after him, killing me too. He threw me in the old well. It had been rumoured that people had fell in the well and never were seen again. I had been transported to the future of this world where I was raised by the Higurashi's."

"How old were you?" He asked.

"I had been ten when I was thrown in the well. My father sent me along with a letter explaining, and a headband."

I pulled my black head band with the leaf symbol on it. I clutched it as I showed it to Akago.

"So we are going there. Are there demons?"

"No, other then the few in human containers there are none. The world consists of normal people and ninja."

"Wow." Akago said.

I smiled at him again. Then I tucked my headband away. We fell from the forest into a familiar clearing. I looked ahead at the harmless looking wood well. I stepped up beside it and looked down. There were a few bones on the well floor. I stood looking down. **'Jump already. I want to go see this world of yours and I want to see how this thing works.' **A voice in my head said in a bored tone. 'Shut up Naraku. I may have to deal with you but you don't have to pester me all the time.' I replied. '**I know but its fun to make you annoyed. I have nothing better to do anyways. And it's your own fault for sealing me inside of your self. You could have sealed me in something else.' **Naraku chuckled. 'And take the risk you would escape. No, I'm fine with having you in me, even if you are insane and annoying.' **'I may be annoying and a little insane but too bad for you.' **'I know. Now shut up.' **'You know I think I'll enjoy our time together. Interesting things always happen to you, you keep me entertained, and you aren't too bad to talk to. That conversation with Sesshomaru was interesting too. I have never seen him show anything else but anger or annoyance. And carrying my former heart around is a bit interesting. Does he even know I can see and hear every word he says?**' 'No he doesn't now shut up. I never knew you could talk so much. I knew you were evil, but annoying too, come on!' I could tell he was grinning at the moment.

If I closed my eyes I could see him in my mind. He always had his wavy black hair and red eyes. He always wore his purple and black outfit and he usually sat in a dark spot, or made up imaginary couches and such to sit on. He enjoyed driving me crazy, poking through my mind and thoughts (which he could do), and making up imaginary furniture. He once set up a whole house in my mind then started asking me what color my house should be when I got a house and what furniture I would have. He seemed to love doing it because it annoyed me to death. I had known he was evil and a bit twisted but this was too much. He was like an older brother who enjoyed torturing me, except I would never think of him as a brother. He was to hot for one, and he was my enemy for another. **'You know I can hear your thoughts right?' **'Yes.' **'So you think I'm hot?' **'Yes. Even if you are evil you are very good looking. Sesshomaru looks better though.' He had been grinning but scowled as I mentioned Sesshomaru. He just pouted slightly. God! Naraku was completely different then what I had always pictured. Like I would never in my life had believed anyone if they had said he had pouted but now here he was in my mind pouting. I sighed.

"Mother?"

Akago was looking at me. I realized I had been standing there for a few minutes.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes I was just spacing out."

"No I mean you are covered in blood."

"What?"

I looked down at myself and realized I was dripping in blood. My kimono was almost red now. I wondered how I hadn't noticed that the wound that I had got from Naraku right before sealing him had reopened. Then I realized I was almost numb; from the pain. I blinked as the pain I had been ignoring seared through me. I tried to jump in to the well but fell more then jumped. All I saw was the walls of the well rushing by, and a warm violet glow erupted around me. Not blue like when I went to the future or came back to the past, but violet to say I was going to my home dimension.

Soon I touched the soft dirt. All I wanted to do then was black out. But I knew if I didn't get help I could die. I saw some vines and grabbed on with my one free hand. I pulled my self up. When I was on my feet I used my ninja jumping skills to jump from the well. I stumbled on the grassy ground. I fell to my knees making sure I didn't hurt or drop Akago. I looked around quickly. We weren't even in a clearing. The well was just in the trees hidden under wines and hidden in the tall grass. I could sense a lot of people off in one direction. I quickly took off my barriers except the one blocking my miko powers. Then the last thing I saw was the ground quickly approaching.

.--.

I slowly felt feeling return to my body. I groaned softly as I felt some of the pain. Then I cracked my eyes open. I felt pretty good except for the dull aching pain in my muscles. I felt rested and my back, where I had got the wound, didn't hurt. The first thing I saw as I opened my eyes was a white ceiling. I saw a fan spinning lazily around. I just watched the blades whirl as I sorted my thoughts out. I wondered how I had got where ever I was. I blinked slowly as a head popped into view. It was a boy that was about two years younger then me. He had blonde spiky hair and azure eyes. He had a large grin on. He then disappeared.

"Baa-chan! She's awake."

"Okay and don't call me baa-chan!"

I slowly slid up the bed I now realized I was laying on. I propped myself up on my elbows and looked around quietly. I immediately recognized the room I was in as a hospital room. I saw the blonde running from the chair a woman with blonde hair in two ponytails had thrown. The woman soon turned to me. She seemed like someone in charge. She grabbed another chair and sat down beside me.

"Well-" She started.

She was interrupted at the door to the room opened. A man in a black outfit with spiky black hair and onyx eyes walked in along with a girl with pink hair and green eyes. They blinked at me and hurried over.

"Is this the girl Naruto found?" The girl asked.

"Yes." The woman said.

Then she turned to me. She looked at me a minute.

"Well hello. My name is Tsunade. I am the Hokage. The boy who found you is Naruto. This boy is Sasuke and this is Sakura, they are his team mates."

They all nodded at their names and I slowly looked them over.

"May I ask who you are and what you are doing in the forest? Naruto found you by the well gravely injured and we found a leaf headband on you."

She pointed to the headband. I looked at it then her.

"My name is Kagome, I got the wound in a battle and I have the head band because I used to be a Kohona ninja."

It was true. I had been in the academy before my father had thrown me down the well. Actually I had just graduated by that time.

"Why have I not seen you?" The Hokage asked.

"I left years ago when my life was threatened."

"How long ago?"

"Nine years ago, when I was ten."

"And your life was threatened?"

"Some people were after my father and my father was worried they would kill me too."

There was silence a moment.

"So what is your surname?" Sakura asked.

"Hatake."

There was dead silence.

"She couldn't be related to 'him' could she?" The girl asked Tsunade.

"I don't know."

"Wait! Where is my son?!" I breathed.

By now my thoughts were organized and I realized Akago was not with me. I jumped up and Tsunade grabbed me. She forced me back into my bed.

"My son…." I started.

"He is fine. He is with our sensei. We had to keep him away while we healed you." Sakura said.

I slowly calmed. I took some deep breathes and looked up again. I now noticed I was in some kind of hospital gown. I saw my blood stained kimono on a chair and winced. I would never get the beautiful kimono clean. My bag was beside it. Suddenly my senses rang. I looked at Naruto again.

"Fox?" I asked.

He blinked and they all gaped.

"How did you know?" Tsunade whispered.

"I can sense a fox in him." I said calmly laying back.

I sighed softly and looked around.

"And you aren't scared or hate me?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Why would I hate you?" I blinked.

"Well I killed a lot of people."

"You mean the fox killed them. What does that have to do with you? Just because the fox is in you doesn't mean are bad."

Naruto blinked then I saw his eyes get watery. But he held the tears in as the others looked at both of us.

"She's my new best friend! Take a hike Sasuke, Sakura!" He said grabbing me in a hug.

I laughed but groaned as I felt my sore muscles complain. He dropped me as I groaned. He looked sheepish as the others sighed and rolled their eyes.

"I would love to be your friend but I'm a bit sore still so no hugging."

He nodded and grinned. Suddenly I felt a presence coming towards the door. The two were both familiar. One was Akago but the one with him felt familiar too. I looked at the door waiting. The others blinked and followed my line of sight. They blinked as a man walked in holding Akago. He had silver hair that was slanted at an odd angle, and a headband covering one eyes. He wore a mask and a green vest over top of a blue outfit.

"Well here's the kid. He is the best behaved kid I have ever loo…"

He trailed off as he starred at me. The others looked at him.

"Kakashi this is..-" Tsunade said slowly.

"Kagome." He breathed.

Everyone's eyes flew wide.

"Kashi." I sniffed with watery eyes.

He was beside me in an instant. He hugged me tight as he set Akago beside me. I hugged him back and sniffed back the tears.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Naruto yelled.

Kakashi let me go and took a step back.

"She has the same last name as you Kakashi is she your… daughter?" Tsunade asked.

"No, she is my niece."

"Your niece!?" Sakura and Naruto gasped.

"Yes. I had a brother long ago."

"What happened to father?" I asked.

Kakashi looked away.

"He died."

Everyone winced. I just sighed. They blinked at me.

"So the assassins killed him?" I asked.

"Yes. He had found out about what Orochimaru was planning and Orochimaru killed him. Kagome just escaped." He explained to the others.

"Her father was the ninja who gave the last Hokage the heads up about Orochimaru? I never knew he was your brother." Tsunade said.

"It was kept under wraps. And he wasn't a well known ninja. He was strong but stayed in the shadows and wasn't known that well to anyone but the Hokage and me."

"What about his wife, Kagome's mom?" Sakura asked.

"Disappeared on a mission when I was eight; thought to be dead." I said.

Everyone glanced at me as if waiting for the breakdown. I just picked Akago up and smiled down at him. He gurgled happily at me. He knew better then to talk in front of others.

"You just found out your father is dead and you don't even cry?" Naruto asked.

I looked up at him.

"Want me to cry? I have cried enough for a life time, already."

There was silence a moment.

"So is that your real son?" Kakashi asked scowling.

"No he is adopted. Don't worry uncle, I won't have boyfriend without your permission." I said.

He nodded and the others grinned and the mood was lightened. No one noticed my crossed fingers either. 'Nosy uncles.' I thought.

"What is his name?" Sakura asked cooing to Akago who smiled back.

I could tell his smile held a smirk that said my-acting-is-so-good-you-don't-know-I'm-smarter-then-you. I giggled slightly and he beamed at me.

"His name is Akago."

"Where is his family?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, I killed them." I said smiling down at Akago.

I kind of had killed his 'parents' in a way. I looked up as I noticed the really thick silence. Everyone was gaping at me.

"When you first talked I had the impression you were a normal girl." Tsunade said.

"Even when she was young she had perfect chakara control and could use advanced genjutsus, taijutsus, and ninjutsus. She had already graduated from the academy at age nine and could have even earlier but the Hokage held her back." Kakashi said.

"You just killed his parents?" Sakura interrupted.

"Yes."

"Why?"

I looked at the black haired boy. This was the first time he had spoken. He had a look in his eyes that said a similar thing had happened to him.

"Because his 'father' killed my six best and only friends." I said. "And he didn't have a mother."

There was silence. **'You know I only killed Inuyasha. The slayer and the cat were killed by Kohaku, the monk was struck down by Kagura, the wolf was killed by the three, and a demon got the kitsune. So technically I didn't kill them all.'** Naraku yawned. 'Oh shut up.' I growled back.

"So it wasn't senseless murder.' Naruto said almost sighing.

"I wouldn't murder someone for no reason." I sniffed. "Unless my leader, or master told me to but I have neither of those yet."

They nodded. Then I looked at Sasuke.

"Are you an Uchiha?" I asked.

Everyone blinked.

"You know the Uchiha's?" Sakura asked.

"It is the most prestigious clan in Kohona, everyone knows of it." I rolled my eyes.

There was silence.

"Was." Tsunade said.

"What?"

"It _was_ the most prestigious clan."

"It's still alive, isn't it?" I asked slowly.

I noticed Sasuke's eyes burning with hate.

"Sasuke is one of the only two Uchihas left." Kakashi said.

"What? Was there a battle?" I asked.

"No. Sasuke's brother Itachi … well something happened and he killed his entire clan leaving only Sasuke left alive." Kakashi said.

There was dead silence.

"Itachi did that? He wouldn't-"

I thought a moment. 'Yes he would.' I told myself.

"You knew Itachi?" Everyone blinked.

"Yeah. I met him a couple times…." I trailed off.

I had met him before. I thought about him a moment then I looked up.

"Can I get up and get dressed now?" I asked.

Tsunade blinked then stood nodding. She shooed everyone from the room as I walked to my bag. I dug inside it and pulled out a deep blue kimono with silver-icy blue ivy. I pulled it on and combed my hair pulling it into a bun. Then I had pulled my pack on and slipped my two swords into my obi. I grabbed Akago walking towards the door. I stepped out to find the others waiting for me. They blinked at me.

"Where did you go while running? Not very many people wear kimonos and such or carry the weapons you have." Tsunade said.

Kakashi and I looked at one another.

"Can I trust them?" I mouthed.

He nodded.

"I was thrown down the well."

"You mean the well Naruto found you at?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes."

"The last Hokage left a scroll that talked about the mysterious well and about some people who fell in disappearing." Tsunade said.

"It took me to another dimension."

They all blinked and Kakashi leaned in.

"It took me to a world similar to this but no ninja."

They all stepped in closer.

"But at fifteen I was starting to wonder if I could come back so I went to the well again. I was going to jump in when I was pulled through by a demon. Instead of coming back here I was pulled into the past. I stayed there till I came here.

"So you went through the well. Then when you tried to come back you went somewhere else?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes. I went to the feudal era when demons roamed."

"Demons? Like the fox?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. There were some as strong and large as the fox but many smaller ones that an ordinary human could beat."

"You expect us to believe that?" Sasuke asked.

"I know she went somewhere after falling through the well. I saw it myself." Kakashi said.

"But demons?" Sasuke asked.

"Demons do exsist. My mother is not lying."

Everyone's head dropped as they looked at Akago who watched them.

"Did he… naw I must be imagining things." Naruto said.

"I heard him talk too." Sakura said.

The others all nodded.

"That was because I did talk." Akago sneered.

They all opened their mouths and then snapped them shut.

"Okay. We believe you now." Naruto whispered

"So he isn't human?" Tsunade asked.

"Not really."

"Did you really kill his parents?" Sakura asked.

"Yes and no. He was an incarnate of some evil demon I knew and he was used to hold the demons heart so that the demon was invincible. I sealed the demon and now look after Akago."

"You sealed a demon and still live?" Tsunade gawked.

"Yes. It is easy to seal a demon."

"Our Hokage, the Yondaime gave up his life to seal the fox in Naruto. And Sarutobi gave up his life trying to seal Orochimaru." Kakashi whispered

I blinked.

"Well the fox was larger and stronger the demon I sealed at least. And I sealed a half demon."

"But how?" Tsunade asked.

"Miko spell."

"Miko... you're a miko?"

Tsunade's eyes widened as she spoke till they were as big as saucers.

"Yes. And I have been trained by a clan of wolf demons."

"A miko with ninja powers." Tsunade gasped.

"But miko's died out hundreds of years ago." Sakura said.

"Well my powers awoke at fifteen."

"Can I see?" Naruto asked.

He didn't seem to completely understand the conversation. I sighed. I raised a hand. Suddenly a pink barrier sprang up around Naruto. His eyes widened and he mouthed 'cool' as he felt it. Then he started to talk. Everyone grinned.

"A barrier to block sound. Maybe we should keep that around him all the time." Sasuke snorted.

Naruto scowled as he seemed confused. I let the barrier drop and he just looked at us as if he had known he had missed out on something.

"What about Akago, can he do anything?" Sakura asked.

"Well I can talk, and I can control the darkness in people's hearts." Akago grinned.

"Really?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes. I can get the darkest feelings and desires in them and make them surface. I can also control them."

"You have to be holding him." I added.

"But I held you and I felt no dark desires." Kakashi said.

"I didn't try to control you." Akago said.

"Let me see." Sakura said.

We both shrugged and I handed him to Sakura. She held him close. Akago grabbed her shirt and smirked as Sakura's eyes went from emerald green to an almost black color mixed with green. She sagged slightly.

"What is it you want to do the most?" I asked.

"It's probably something like be the best Kunoichi or marry Sasuke." Naruto grinned.

"I told you she has lost her feelings for Sasuke." Tsunade sighed.

"My desire is to beat manners and emotions into Sasuke and brains into Naruto." Sakura said in a ghostly voice.

There was silence then Tsunade burst into laughter, Kakashi grinned, and Naruto and Sasuke gaped.

"Do you love Sasuke?" I asked.

"No. I like-"

I covered her mouth. Everyone sighed.

"I won't let her give away that. Love is always a secret." I winked.

"Are you dating?' Naruto asked.

"Yes I'm dating-"

I once again covered her mouth and grinned.

"Do you think Sasuke is a teme?" Naruto grinned.

"Of course she doesn-" Sasuke started.

"Yes." Sakura said.

Everyone burst into laughter as Sasuke blinked.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because he left his village for power. Even if we brought him back it was hard and he doesn't know how much trouble it was. And he never accepts us as equals, and he thinks he the boss, and he thinks he doesn't need emotions, and he thinks the world revolves around killing Itachi, and-"

"I think that's enough." I said pulling Akago away from her.

She blinked and her eyes returned to her normal color.

"Oh My God! I can't believe I said that in front of everyone." Sakura blushed.

Everyone hid laughter.

"Naruto's turn" I giggled.

"What?" Naruto asked.

I handed Akago to him and before he could complain his eyes turned deep blue.

"Do you love anyone?" I asked.

"I thought you said love is a secret." Tsunade said.

"Only for girls." I said.

They grinned.

"I love Hinata." Naruto said.

"WHOA!" Kakashi, Sakura, Tsunade, and Sasuke all gaped.

I looked at them as they gaped at him.

"Hinata has been after him for years and he never seemed to care." Sakura said.

"Then he says he loves her? They should have got together years ago." Kakashi said.

"We got together two years ago." Naruto said suddenly.

"WHAT!?" The four yelled.

"No one noticed because no one looked or cared." Naruto said.

Everyone stood gaping.

"What do you think of your team mates and your Hokage?" I asked.

"Sakura is kind and a very good medic but she has an annoyingly short temper. Sasuke is a teme. Tsunade is an old lady who I will surpass and Kakashi is a pervert."

Everyone sighed in agreement almost. I pulled Akago from Naruto who grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah Kagome heads up Kakashi is a pervert." Sakura said.

"I know."

They all blinked at me.

"I found his stash of-"

Kakashi covered my mouth.

"His stash of what?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"Nothing." Kakashi said quickly.

He glared at me and I grinned as he moved his hand.

"Well I found his 'stash' when I was nine. That was a very interesting discovery. I learned a lot from that stash of…" I trailed off.

They all looked at me.

"You read them?" Kakashi stuttered.

I nodded. He fell back against the wall almost fainting.

"Judging by his reaction I'm guessing it was porn or Icha Icha." Tsunade said.

I grinned.

"And you read it?' Sasuke asked wide eyes.

"Well I was bored and when Kakashi tells you not to go through his stuff and read anything you have to."

They all nodded slowly. Kakashi was taking deep breathes.

"I had stuff to read for weeks. I read every book more then once. I learned everything important in those books. Every time he got a new book I would read it too."

We heard a thud and saw Kakashi laying on the floor, in a faint.

"I haven't ever heard or seen him faint." Tsunade gaped.

I giggled. Then Sakura revived the fainted ninja. He looked at me and seemed to be annoyed and almost panicky. He scowled a moment then Tsunade turned to me.

"Do you want to be a Kohona ninja?"

"Yes."

"Well we will have to test you later but first we have to arrange living arrangements."

"And your will." Kakashi added.

I glanced at him.

"Your father, Takashi left you a will."

I nodded.

"Did you sell his house?" I asked.

Kakashi sighed.

"Yes. We also sold most of his stuff but we kept some stuff. I have it stored away."

"Okay." I said.

"So where will she stay?" Naruto asked.

"Well she could stay with one of you." Tsunade said.

"My apartment is too small for two people." Kakashi said.

"Same with mine." Sakura and Naruto chorused.

"That leaves Sasuke. He does have lots of room in the Uchiha compound."

Everyone glanced at him. He blinked slowly and let out a soft sigh.

"Fine. She may stay with me."

I smiled softly.

"Well let's go to my apartment first so you can grab the will and stuff your father left you." Kakashi said.

Everyone nodded.

"Hey Kagome how about later I'll grab the girls and we can go shopping. You could use some ninja outfits and stuff." Sakura grinned.

I nodded smiling.

"Want to get ramen after that?" Naruto asked.

"Sure. I love ramen!"

"Really!? Me too!"

"My…." I trailed off.

I let silence shroud us a moment.

"My best friend used to love ramen too." I said cheerfully.

They all glanced at me. I felt a pang of sadness in my heart**. 'Oh Kagome what is wrong? Why so sad? Is it because I killed your best friend?' **Naraku chuckled. 'Shut the hell up!' I hissed at him. He loved to strike me when I was down. He just chuckled softly. I took a deep breath to control my emotions then smiled at the others.

"Well let's go." I said.

They all nodded.

"I have to go back to my office so see you." Tsunade sighed strolling off.

The others glanced at me and we walked off, Kakashi leading the way. As we walked through the busy streets I noticed the changes. I smiled as we walked down the road. I was home. But it didn't feel like home. My home was in the feudal era with Sango, Miroku, Kirara, Shippo, and Inuyasha. But I could never go back to that home again because my friends were gone and without them it wasn't home. 'Damn you Naraku.' I said to the man in my mind. **'Oh you're so sad I killed your friends? Why didn't you kill me then instead of sealing me away?**' 'I couldn't risk letting you escape hell. Anything is possible with you.' **'Ah yes. But here I am in your mind now. I can torture you for all your life with the reminder that I was the one who killed your friends. Ha Ha.'** He laughed. 'Shut up!' I yelled at him. He just chuckled on.

I tuned him out and focused on the road ahead as I buried my emotions behind my emotionless mask. The others didn't notice as they chatted. When we reached Kakashi's apartment we walked into the not-so-clean room. Kakashi sighed and walked to a closet. He pulled out boxes and set them on his table. We all watched till all the boxes were on his table. Then he went to his room and grabbed a large envelope. When he got back out he sighed. I looked into the boxes and found photos, my mother's jewellery, my father's ninja weapons, and scrolls and books that my father never let anyone touch.

"Your father, Takashi, left everything to you. We had to get rid of most of it but all of this was specifically in his will. The books and scrolls have not been touched or read since your father died, at his request in his will. Your mother's jewellery is just a reminder of your mother and the photos have sentimental value." Kakashi said.

I nodded as I ran my fingers over the boxes still holding Akago in one arm. He just watched quietly like the others.

"This envelope contains a sheet about your money which is all in the bank."

I gently took the envelope and handed it to Akago who held it for me.

"Well, do mind if I bring this with me to your place Sasuke?" I asked.

"There is enough room." He said.

I smiled at him again but he still gave me no reaction. I rolled my eyes at the stoic Uchiha. There were five boxes on the table.

"This may take a couple trips." I muttered to myself.

"I can carry something." The Uchiha sighed.

I smiled at him again. Then I grabbed one box under one arm. I smirked at Akago who I set inside this box. He scowled slightly but sighed. Then I grabbed two other boxes, stacking them, and holding them with one arm. Everyone glanced at me and I grinned. Sasuke grabbed the other two, both stacked and gripped hard.

"Let's go." He said.

"The girls and I'll come by to pick you up later." Sakura said as we all walked from the room.

"Come meet me at Ichiraku's ramen bar after you're done shopping." Naruto grinned.

I nodded to the two as they headed off. I grinned 'bye' to Kakashi as we both walked off. I followed the silent Sasuke down the streets. We got a few glances but people mostly ignored us. Finally we reached a large deserted looking compound. I glanced in. It looked like a ghost town. I followed Sasuke as he walked in. He walked down the streets past most of the houses. He finally stopped at the largest one. It looked like it had belonged to the head family in the clan. I was guessing it was his. He walked in without a care and I followed on his heels. We walked down a long hall till we reached a door. He opened it and I saw an old bed, a dresser, a nightstand, and an empty bookshelf. The bed was unmade but the room looked clean. I wondered if he had cleaned it.

"I keep the place clean." He said as if he had read my mind. "You can stay here."

I smiled at him and nodded thankfully. He set the boxes he had been carrying down. I did the same and grabbed Akago before we walked into the halls. Sasuke showed me the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and his room. He said I could explore the rest on my own. I nodded and he headed out saying he was going to train. I waved and walked back to my room. I set Akago on the bed and he immediately rolled onto his stomach and attempted to crawl around. I moved to the boxes I had brought.

I looked through my mother's jewellery and found many pieces I remembered from when I had been a child. I set this box under my bed. Then I opened the one with the photos. I glanced at a few before shoving these under my bed to. I opened the one with my father's weapons next. I looked down at the kunai and shuriken and at the scrolls. At the bottom was also my father's old ANBU mask. I slowly pulled out the knives and their pouches. I strapped one pouch to my obi and set the other on the empty shelf. I looked over the scrolls I saw too. I grabbed the first and pulled the weapon from it. I looked at the long curved sword. It was a bit smaller then Sango's Hiraikotsu, but it looked like a crescent moon. It had a handle built in at the top. It was silver and looked deadly. I remembered watching my father battle with it.

_..--._

_My father grabbed me in his arms. I squeaked as he jumped quickly into the trees._

"_Where are we going father? Why are we leaving?"_

"_There are some bad men after me Kage."_

_Kage was my nickname. It meant shadow. My father told me I could disappear like a shadow from right under his nose. I looked at my father's face. He was looking ahead and I saw a trace of worry in his large brown eyes._

"_The men will kill us if they catch us so we must run."_

"_But you can beat them can't you?" I asked._

"_There are a lot for just me."_

"_I will help."_

"_No. I can't have you getting hurt. You are all I have left."_

"_What about uncle Kakashi."_

"_I have him but we aren't as close. You are my whole world. Without you I couldn't live."_

_I looked at him. I stayed silent. I could feel the people behind us were gaining. Suddenly my father dropped from the trees. I saw an old well and peered at it curiously. My father set me by it and turned to face the incoming ninja. They dropped from the trees and looked ready to kill. My father whipped out his scroll, bringing out his crescent sword. He called it Chidori – one thousand birds- after one of uncle's attacks. He let his chakara infuse in it and the etchings of small birds glowed on the blade. He lunged at the ninja in a flash slashing. The blade got red as he cut two people in half. Then he spun letting go of his blade. It ripped through the air hitting six more people. He saw a man come for me. He grabbed his chidori which had circled back and jumped in front of me killing the man._

"_Jump down the well Kage!" He yelled._

"_I can't leave you."_

_He tapped my headband._

"_You are a Kohona ninja. You must be strong. Now go. Nothing may happen but you never know. This may be goodbye."_

_I nodded and planted a kiss on his cheek. Then I vaulted over the well. I heard the screams of more men dieing as I fell into a purple light._

_. OF FLASHBACK.--._

That was the first time I had seen my dad use his chidori sword in combat. I now ran my fingers over the metal and felt the small etchings of birds. They were outlined better when you pumped chakara into the blade. The chakara ran across the small etched lines. I put the blade back in the scroll and set it off to the side. Then I pulled out the second and last scroll. I pulled the weapon from this one and found a bow. I blinked as I looked over it. Then I smiled slightly. I remembered that my mother with her lovely blue hair and her blue eyes. She had trained with her bow all the time but I had never seen her fight with it. She had even taught me how to hold and draw one properly but I hadn't been able to fire it because I had been too small. I smiled at one of my memories.

_..--._

_I wandered around the house to the back yard. I heard a thunk and blinked as I saw my mother standing with her feet spread and her bow in hand. She had just shot an arrow at one of the trees. It was in the bulls-eye on a target. She looked at me once as I stepped closer. Then she drew her bow again. She fired a second arrow which buried itself in the tree beside her first arrow. I watched her face. As long as I could remember she had always been a bit on the silent side and she wore an emotionless mask around any one but my father or I. I walked up to her and she stopped shooting her bow and looked down at me with a small smile._

"_Yes Kage?" She asked._

_My mother also called me by my nickname._

"_Did you and daddy fight again?"_

_She tensed a bit. I was only five in a half so I didn't completely understand the situation. But I had heard yelling earlier. She crouched beside me and set her bow on the ground. I wrapped my arms around her and she hugged me back._

"_Takashi and I aren't getting along very well."_

"_Why?"_

"_We don't love each other any more. And I don't like this town any more."_

"_Will you leave?" I asked._

"_I don't know. But I will always love you."_

"_Does daddy love me too?"_

"_Yes. You are our little angel. We may not love each other but we both love you."_

"_Okay mommy!"_

_I laughed and backed up as I looked at her and smiled._

_. OF FLASHBACK.--._

She had died when I was six, thirteen years ago. Well that's what they had said. No one had found her body and no one had seen her after that. I didn't believe she was dead. Sarutobi covered up her disappearance though and said she was dead. She had never had any close friends so no one asked around. Only my father, I, and Sarutobi had known she hadn't died. I sighed softly and put the bow back in the scroll. I set it beside my dads scroll and pulled the last box to me. I glanced at the books and decided to look at them later. Then I grabbed the envelope. I tore the top open and pulled a sheet out. It was a balance saying how much money I had. I looked it over then stored it in my kimono. I gently took the swords out of my obi and stored them on my bed. I felt the presence of four other people coming close to the house. I picked up Akago and threw a barrier around my room that would let people in but wouldn't let anyone take anything out. I walked out of the door to see Sakura and three girls following. As they got closer Sakura smiled. They stepped up and stopped in front of me as I looked them over.

"Hey guys this is Kagome. Kagome this is Ino-pig."

I guessed by the nickname she was a rival/friend. Ino had blonde hair, some hung over one eye and the rest was in a ponytail. She wore a skimpy purple outfit with bandages in certain places and ninja sandals.

"This is Tenten. She is a weapon master."

Tenten had brown hair in two buns. She wore a blue outfit and had scrolls in pouches.

"And this is Hinata."

Hinata had violet eyes of a Hyuuga. She wore a purple sweater and blue pants. She had long black hair to her waist.

"Hello. I'm Kagome. And this is my adopted son Akago."

Everyone smiled and said hi bowing slightly.

"Well let's go shopping!" Sakura said.

Everyone grinned and we walked off. As we walked I whispered to Akago that he had to be silent. He nodded. We were all soon talking as we walked out of the compound on to the road. Everyone seemed nice and friendly as we talked. I learned more about what I had missed in Kohona. I also learned about the teams. Our first stop was the bank so I could sort that out and get some money. Then we walked doff to a clothes store. They all agreed I needed to get some normal clothes. I got pants, shirts, shorts, and such. The girls seemed to have fun looking at outfits for Akago too. I bought him a light purple one and a black one, he seemed amused. We moved from the normal clothing store to a ninja clothing store. I bought some ninja sandals, some tight black Capri's, and a black kimono-type top. We quickly moved onto other stores that the girls said were nice. I ended up buying some personal items, ninja gear, and other things. By the time we parted I had everything I would need for the time being.

We reached the Uchiha compound and I dropped everything in my room. I kept my kimono on instead of changing into a new outfit. Then I pulled out a large sash I had gotten and tied it like a sling. I could set Akago in it so he was against my stomach looking up at me, but I had my hands free. I just carried him at the moment though. I couldn't sense Sasuke in the compound so I headed out to meet Naruto for ramen like I had promised. I walked out the door and towards Ichiraku's ramen bar that I had seen earlier. I walked humming slightly as I talked quietly to Akago. When I reached the ramen bar I found Naruto slurping down noodles with a man with brown hair in a pony tail and who had a scar across his nose. He talked softly to the loud blonde. As I sat down and ordered Naruto perked up and turned to me. I tucked Akago in the sash.

"Hey Kagome! This is Iruka. He was my teacher in the academy!" Naruto grinned.

"Nice too meet you Iruka."

"Nice to meet you too, Kagome."

I smiled and he smiled back.

"So where are you from?" He asked.

"I used to live here but then I left for about nine years."

He nodded. He looked at Akago who gurgled and looked like a normal-baby as much as possible.

"Adopted?" He asked.

I smiled and nodded.

"His name is Akago."

I shot Naruto a look that said tell-and-die. He just grinned and continued to slurp noodles.

"So Naruto said you know Kakashi."

"Yes, he is my uncle."

Iruka starred a moment.

"I didn't know he had a brother let alone a niece."

"Long story." I said as the man gave me my ramen.

I dug in and talked to Naruto and Iruka. We all ate noodles and talked for a while. When I saw that it was getting late I paid for the ramen and walked away waving. I walked slowly back. The sun was setting by now in bursts of gold and red. I sighed softly as I walked.

"Konoha is okay." Akago said suddenly.

"It is a bit different from when I was last here. And it is completely different then the feudal are."

"I know."

We walked in silence again. **'So do you like it here?' **Naraku asked. 'Yes.' Over the day Naraku and I had talked a lot. I hated to admit it but the more he talked and the more I got to know him the less I hated him. I sighed and rubbed my temples. **'You don't have to hate me Kagome.**' Naraku said almost softly. 'Why not?' I asked. **'Because just because I killed your friends doesn't make you need to hate me. Think, if I hadn't killed them you would never had been able to return here and I would never had been sealed so I couldn't escape. They most likely would have died soon even if I hadn't killed them. And they are most likely happy in death.**' Naraku said. He didn't sound mad or annoyed or bored he sounded almost caring.

It confused me. He left me alone as I fell into thought. I soon reached the Uchiha compound and headed for the house I was staying in. When I reached it I walked in and to my room. I sensed Sasuke in the building but ignored him. I found that my bed had been made. I tided a bit and put the things I had bought away. I set Akago on my bed and told him I was going to have a shower. He nodded and started to practice crawling. I walked from the room to the bathroom where I locked the door and stripped. I jumped into the shower as I collected my thoughts. I scrubbed and washed my hair as I thought. When I had finished I hoped from the water and grabbed a fluffy towel. I slowly dried off and pulled my kimono on. I walked silently from the room to my room. Akago watched me as I grabbed my weapon sharpening kit and my father's old weapons. They needed a good sharpen. I sat on my bed and started as Akago once again started to crawl around.

'I want to hate you, but my hate is lessening. I know you killed my friend so why can't I hate you?' I asked to Naraku who had been quiet since I had started to think. **'You are a miko; pure. Hate is against your nature, unless the thing you hate is pure evil. Even I doubt I'm pure evil.**' He said. **'Do you think if I hadn't killed your friends things would be better?**' 'Well I would still be in the feudal era. I would most likely be around a camp fire laughing with my friends.' I said. '**You might not be. You might have been fighting. You might have beaten me. What would have held you to them the?**' He asked. 'My friends would stay by me. We were friends.' '**How many times has Inuyasha hurt you? How many times have Sango and Miroku ignored you for one another? How many times has Shippo ignored you till he wanted something? Are you sure they are your friends?**' He asked.

I stopped sharpening a moment and thought. I still missed them but somehow I felt almost better here then I had with them. 'I guess we weren't as close as we had been but still… They were my companions and you killed them.' **'People are killed all the time. Families die each minute. One group is nothing. And as I said, one way or another, by now I would have been dead or they would be. If it had been me you would have still been brought here but you wouldn't have Akago and you would feel forgotten by your friends. At least with them dead you don't have to worry about them and they died before you all got to far apart.**' He said.

I restarted sharpening. I really thought about his words because they were very true. My friends… I thought back on all the times Inuyasha had left me for Kikyo and how many times he had fought with me and called me names. Then I remember all the times he had actually been nice to me. The latter had been very few times. I could count the times on one hand while I had lost count of the first memories. Then there were Miroku and Sango. Sango and Miroku had been polite but they had been too caught up in one another or their own troubles. They rarely tried to start conversation with me or do things with me. They had only talked to me if I had started the conversation. And they had seemed a bit irritated I was taking time away from one another. Then there was Shippo. He and Kirara had stayed together most of the time. Shippo had stopped sleeping with me and riding on my shoulder. He would only talk to me if he wanted something and Kirara had never talked to me.

I realized that we hadn't been close at all. At the beginning we had but in the end I was an extra piece only needed for my jewel shard sensing skills. And even Kikyo could have replaced me in that. I felt my throat close up and I pushed all my sorrow behind my frequently used emotionless mask. I closed my eyes and I found Naraku lying on a couch. He didn't look smug or amused. He looked almost sad. I visualized myself in my mind. A small almost 'me' popped up. It was a trick I had learned. I could slip into my mind and interact with Naraku. At first I had been mad at him even fought him. But now I wasn't here to fight. I walked towards the couch and he moved his legs so I could sit. I rested my head in my hands as I looked around the place Naraku now resided in. It looked like a pitch black room. I felt Naraku shift beside me. I felt two arms wrap around my waist and pull me back into a chest as two legs pressed to mine. I felt Naraku rest his chin on my shoulder. I felt a bit comforted.

'Why? Why did they start to not care for me? Why didn't I notice?' I asked.

'**You didn't want to notice. You didn't want to believe they had started to drift from you.'**

'I liked them.'

'**Not as much as you thought though. Did you notice that when we were talking just now you didn't even try to argue that you had always liked them and that I was wrong in killing them? Before, a while back when I had caught you that one time I tried to torture you to tell you your friends weren't coming. You didn't believe me for a second, you argued with me the whole time. Of course they did get you after a day.'**

'When did this start. When did the rift between our friendship start to grow larger?'

'**Probably quite a while ago**.'

'I loved it in the feudal era. I loved travelling with my friends.'

'**Did you love to travel with your friends? Or did you just like to travel, to fight, to have a quest, a purpose.'**

I thought a moment.

'You're right.'

'**About the last part?'**

'About everything.'

'**You need to accept the fact your friends are dead and that you were no longer their friend in the end.'**

We sat in silence a moment.

'I accept that. I don't care anymore. They are at peace and my need to worry about any problems we were having are gone.'

I felt as if a burden had been lifted off of me. I sighed happily.

'You know Naraku. I'm almost glad I sealed you in me. I never knew you till now.'

'**Just because you thought I was evil doesn't mean I am. I just was having fun and everyone takes it the wrong way. I guess some of it was cruel but hey I can't be all good.'** He chuckled.

I smiled and let myself relax in his grasp. I let my head fall back onto his shoulder. His grip tightened comfortingly. He leaned back a bit into the back of his couch. I closed my eyes. We sat a minute.

Then I sighed and opened my real eyes. I looked at my sharpening stuff still in my hands. Akago was sleeping beside me. He may have been a demon but he still behaved like a child so he slept quite a bit. I sighed and picked up all my stuff storing it away. I jumped into a sleeping kimono. Then I grabbed Akago gently and slid under the covers with him as he cuddled into me. I easily drifted off to sleep feeling content.

.--.

I woke slowly as the sunlight fell on me. I sighed softly. Then I sat up looking around. I was still in the room and judging by how high the sun was it was a little after dawn. I hadn't slept that much in a while. I stood silently and pulled on my black Capri's, my black sandals, my black top, and my weapon pouches on. I also slid my two swords into my waist. Then I pulled my long hair into a pony tail. Lastly I grabbed my head band. I tied it around the upper part of my arm. When I was ready I walked to Akago. I silently woke him. He blinked. I changed him into the black outfit I had got him. He just sighed and clutched my shirt as I walked out the door. I walked to the kitchen and grabbed a water bottle. I didn't even bother to get breakfast as I walked out the door. I needed to train. I hadn't since my fight with Naraku. I slipped out of the compound towards where the training grounds were. The streets were still quite empty. I just walked on nodding to the few people who were out. I soon found the training grounds.

I walked deeper into the trees. I found a mossy spot with some interesting plants and set Akago down. He usually watched me train or looked at the surroundings. He never seemed to mind sitting for hours as I trained. I smiled at him and he gave me a brilliant smile. I pulled out my sword I had gotten from Totosi; my Tokega. I took a deep breath and started my first series of exercises. I did move after move, series after series, always speeding up. I was almost a blur as my sword whipped around. I finally stopped. My breathing was a bit louder and I had a small sweat on. I looked at Akago.

"How long?" I asked.

"You trained for two hours."

I nodded. Then I sheathed my sword. I pulled out a kunai and walked to a tree. I scratched a small circle in the bark. Then I moved to a second tree. I scratched the same small target about an inch in diameter. I did this to a few other trees before I steppe to the middle of the clearing. I threw the first kunai for a warm up. I was a bit unused to the weapons since I hadn't held that kind in nine years. I was skilled with any kind of knife though so I wasn't too bad. I pulled out to kunai and flung them at the same time, each at a different target. I did this for an hour; throwing more kunai and shuriken, and faster. I did it while jumping, spinning, flipping, running, and every possible way. When this was done I sighed and put my knives away. I walked to Akago who still watched me and sat beside him a minute. I drank some of my water and offered him some. He shook his head.

"While you train can I look at one of your knives?" He asked.

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"As long as you don't accidentally cut yourself." I said.

"I won't."

"I shouldn't be giving you a knife at all, you're just an infant."

"But I am a demon. And I'm intelligent. Even more intelligent then the blonde loud mouth."

I giggled.

"I guess you are. Okay here you go."

I handed him a kunai. He grasped it firmly in his small hands. He didn't even look as if he could lift it but I knew better. I knew he could probably throw it quite fast and far to. He may look like a child but he was a lot stronger then he looked. I stood a second later and stepped back to the center of the clearing. I took a deep breath as I took the position of a taijutsu move I remembered from when I had been little. I quickly started to go through it. When I had been ten I had already graduated from the academy. Actually I had graduated at eight and a half. I was considered and exceptional child. A prodigy. I could have graduated years earlier but my parents wanted me to stay with kids my own age and the Hokage wanted me to have a childhood. I was the one of the last of my clan too. One thing was that Kakashi, Takashi, and I had been the last of my clan. Kakashi and I were the last now.

I was the second youngest child to graduate from the academy; first had been Uchiha Itachi. I had been very skilled too. I could do complex jutsus and such. I had practiced a lot in the future of the feudal era on Higurashi shrine so I wasn't to too rusty. I had quite when I had gone to the feudal era though. I could still easily access my chakara and I had quite a large amount of chakara, kind of like the Yondaime had. I didn't focus on that now though. I focused on my taijutsu. I had been quite good at this too and wasn't as rusty since I had worked with the wolf clan. I was quite good in almost all ninja ways. I was best at medical stuff and element jutsus though. I shook these thoughts away as I continued to practice. I practice till well after lunch before doing other training things. At about dinner I stopped and sat beside Akago. He was playing idly with my knife.

"So can you throw that?" I asked.

He looked at me then tossed it. It hit one of my old targets on a tree ten feet away. I whistled and he smirked.

"I am a demon."

"I know."

I smiled at him. Then I picked him up. We talked softly as I walked from the clearing towards the village. When we left the training grounds we were almost ran over by two men with black hair, bushy eyebrows, and green jumpsuits. They stopped in front of us and struck a pose smiling, winking, and giving me a thumbs-up all at the same time.

"Hello young lady! Are you a new Kohona ninja?!" The tallest one asked.

"She is my niece Gai."

I glanced beside me at Kakashi who stepped dup.

"Ah Kakashi! My eternal rival! Wait… She's you're niece?! You have a brother?!"

"He's dead. Now leave Kagome alone."

"Oh Kakashi I can handle myself, now stopping being an overprotective uncle."

Kakashi sighed. I noticed a small orange book in his hand. I sneaked a peek inside over his shoulder. My eye twitched as I saw some perverted pictures and words. I rolled my eyes and looked to the other two. They still were looking at me.

"Well welcome to Kohona! May I ask your name?!" The smaller one asked

"My name is Kagome. Nice to meet you."

I gave them my most dazzling smile. They both blushed slightly.

"Well I am Gai and this is my student Lee!"

"Is your partner Tenten?"

"Yes!" They chorused.

"I went shopping with her yesterday."

They grinned.

"Weren't you two running laps around Kohona?" Kakashi asked.

"Oh! Right! Let us finish our laps of youth, Lee!"

"Of course Gai-sensei!"

The two took off in a cloud of dust.

"Interesting Rival. Very loud and energetic."

"I'm not his rival. He just thinks I am because he wants to be 'cooler' then me. And he's always loud and energetic."

I giggled.

"That is a perverted book." I stated.

"Yes. Not for anyone under eighteen." He agreed.

"Then I can read it."

"Wait…."

"I'm nineteen Kakashi."

He scowled.

"Not for anyone under twenty."

"Ugh! I am old enough. You don't think I know about the stuff in that book? I've already read them, when I was little."

He sighed.

"Fine, go ahead and read it but I'm not lending you my copy."

I rolled my eyes.

"Will you train with me tomorrow?" I asked.

"Sure."

"Meet me here at eight. If you are late I will seek you out. Drag you here. Beat you nearly to death, not heal you, then tear up all those orange books, and burn your masks. So don't be late."

I saw him pale a bit. He knew I would follow through with those plans.

"Okay." He said.

I smiled and waved walking off. I walked to the Uchiha compound and had a shower. Then I pulled on my kimono which I still liked and headed out the door. I was hungry and decided to ask if Hinata would get something to eat with me. Out of all the girls I had met yesterday I liked Hinata the best. She was a bit like me. I also wished to talk to her about the chakara points on a body. With my miko powers I could sense them. I couldn't see them but if I knew where they were in my mind I could maybe cut them off like the Hyuuga did. I walked down the streets to the Hyuuga compound. I walked in and glanced around. The first person I saw I walked up to. It was a boy with long brown hair in a pony tail of sorts. He had light grey eyes and was training in a courtyard.

"Excuse me." I called out.

He stopped training and looked at me.

"Yes?" He asked in an emotionless voice.

"I was wondering if Hinata was around."

"What business do you have with my cousin?" He asked.

"I just wanted to talk to her." I sniffed.

He regarded me.

"I have not seen you around before. May I ask your name?"

"I'm Kagome. You?"

"Neji. Who is the child in your arms?"

"He is my adopted son Akago."

He looked me over a second longer.

"Hinata is not home at the moment."

I sighed.

"Can you tell me where she is?"

"She left a while ago with Naruto."

I sighed again.

"Why do you wear a kimono?"

I looked up.

"Not many wear traditional outfits anymore."

"Well I came from a place where most people wore them. And they are comfortable."

"Why are you in Kohona?"

He seemed curious and quite bored. He seemed to think out each sentence before he asked suggesting he was intelligent and one who spoke with few words.

"Well I used to be a ninja here, but then I left for about nine years. I just returned yesterday."

He looked me up and down again.

"Why did you return?"

"This is my home. Besides I have family here."

"Really?"

"Yes. My uncle Kakashi."

He blinked and opened his mouth. Then he snapped it shut.

"You mean Gai's rival, the copy ninja?"

"Yes. Are you a student of Gai?"

"Yes."

"Ah. I met Tenten, Lee, and Gai and wondered who the last member was. Well Neji Hyuuga I must be going. You don't need to tell Hinata you saw me."

I bowed my head. He bowed his head too. I walked out of the compound and sighed slightly. I decided to just go get something to eat then head home. I found a small restaurant and had a quick meal. I also fed Akago some food. He didn't need much often because he was a demon but he did need some once in awhile. Then I headed home. When I reached Sasuke's house I slipped into my room. I could sense Sasuke in the living room. But he wasn't very social and not the friendliest so I just shrugged and stayed in my room.

I let Akago looked at my weapons as I pulled out the box of scrolls and books from my father. I pulled out the largest scroll and move to my bed. I sat down cross-legged and slowly unrolled the scroll before I started to read. I was soon very into it. It was about my clan and our Kekkai Genkai. I already knew about it and how to activate the first step. I continued to read the scroll. It took me hours to read half of it. When I had finished half I yawned and rolled the scroll up. I cleared my bed of the weapons and scroll and then pulled on my sleeping clothes and once again cuddled under my blankets drifting off.


	12. Ninja Miko Part 2

.--.

I woke at the same time as the day before. I dressed quickly and grabbed Akago. I had an apple this morning and grabbed water. I clipped on my weapon pouches and slid my swords in my waist. Then I skip out the door. I made my way to the training grounds where I was to meet Kakashi. I was early so I set Akago in some shade and started to do some warm up exercises. By the time I finished Kakashi was walking up. I smiled at him and he looked at me suspiciously.

"I want you to train me." I said.

"You could do that alone."

"I'm rusty and I only know a certain amount. I haven't learned anything new in nine years."

He nodded slowly.

"Fine. But get ready for some rigorous training."

I grinned and nodded.

"It may be best if you started the day training with Gai and Lee. They are up early and do Taijutsu training. I could do the other things."

"And you can sleep in." I laughed.

He nodded. Then he glanced at Akago.

"What will you do with him?"

"Well he watches me train. He doesn't complain."

"What about when you are running?"

I thought a moment.

"Do you know anyone who could watch him? I could leave him to watch on a bench but most people will think he is an ordinary child and you can't do that."

Kakashi nodded.

"You could ask Hinata. If she just has to watch him in the morning. She always trains after lunch and at night. She doesn't like to train in the morning and is often lonely and she loves kids." He said.

I grinned.

"I'll talk to her later."

He nodded.

"So he'll just watch as we train?"

"Yes. But let's go to a clearing I found yesterday."

He nodded and I grabbed Akago as we walked to the clearing. When we reached it I set Akago in a different place. I gave him a shuriken and a kunai. Kakashi starred a moment.

"Why did you give him a knife?"

"So he has something to play with."

"Can't he play with a rattle like a normal child?"

"They are boring. Besides knives are good for defence." Akago said.

"I will never get used to him speaking."

I grinned.

"Well be careful." Kakashi said to Akago.

"Kagome told me that yesterday."

"He is quite good with that knife." I said.

"He can use it?"

The kunai whizzed by his head and hit a tree. He blinked and looked at the knife. He slowly pulled it over and put it back by Akago who was smirking.

"I'm just going to pretend that didn't happen." Kakashi mumbled.

Akago snorted and continued to inspect the knife. I rolled my eyes. For most of the day Kakashi and I trained. We switched between jutsus, taijutsu, and genjutsu. We also practiced with our knives. It was quite a fulfilling day. When the sun was setting I picked up Akago. I walked off towards the Hyuuga compound again. Before I was even fully out of the training grounds I met Gai and Lee again.

"Hello Kagome!" Lee waved.

"Hey I wanted to talk to you to."

They were beside me in an instant.

"Yeeeeees?" Gai asked.

"I was wondering if I could train with you in the mornings."

"Of course you may join us in our training of youth! In the morning we do laps around Kohona and exercises of youth!" Gai said.

"So I may join you?"

"Yes!" They both grinned.

"Meet us here at seven!" Lee said as they ran off.

"I wonder if they ever run out of cheerful-attitude and energy."

"Unlikely." Akago said.

I grinned and continued on my way. When I reached the Hyuuga compound I found Neji again. Except instead of training he was sitting drinking tea. He looked up at me.

"Hinata is here."

I smiled. He stood and slowly walked doff. He returned a minute later with Hinata following. She grinned at me.

"Hello Kagome."

"Hey Hinata. I was wondering if you could do me a large favour."

"What is it?"

"I am going to start training with Gai and Lee in the morning and I won't be able to watch Akago. I was wondering if you could watch him in the mornings."

"Of course!"

"Thank you Hinata. Is there any way I can repay you."

"No, it's okay. I will be glad to watch the cutie."

I smiled and Akago gurgled happily. He also liked Hinata. She motioned me over and said she was going to get more tea. I sat down a ways from Neji who had returned to drinking his tea. When Hinata had returned she gave me some tea and sat down beside me.

"I heard you came over yesterday." She said.

"Yes I did. I was wondering if you could explain the chakara points to me."

Neji seemed to listen closer now.

"Why?" Hinata asked curiously.

"Well I can sense the chakara points. I can't see them but I know where most of them are."

"Really?" She asked.

I nodded.

"Show me." She said.

I started to pint to the points on her body. When I was finished the two were starring.

"What?" I asked.

"Only the Hyuuga should be able to even know where they are, but you can see all of them. You aren't Hyuuga are you?"

"No. I'm a Hatake."

The two nodded.

"How about when you come to pick up Akago tomorrow we will talk more. It is getting late now." Hinata said.

I nodded as I noticed the sun had almost set. She smiled and waved as I walked off. I noticed Neji watched me curiously. I walked from the compound towards the Uchiha one. When I reached Sasuke's house I had a quick shower and at quickly. Sasuke was also in the kitchen when I ate. We were a bit silent. I didn't think he hated me but we were just two people who knew one another; new roommates. When I had finished I returned to my room. I tucked Akago, who was already asleep, in. I changed and pulled out one of the books my father had left me. Most of the books were information about the strong clans who had a strong kekkai Genkai. I read once again for a while before I slipped off to sleep.

.--.

When I woke I quickly got ready for more training. I quickly rushed out the door as I told Akago the rules for at Hinata's which included no talking, no showing off, no showing un-normal like abilities, and to behave. I found Hinata waiting for me as I jogged up. I explained that he wouldn't need a nap, and he had been fed already. I also told her he was very quiet and could sit with a toy for hours. She nodded and I thanked her again jogging off. I found Gai and Lee waiting for me. We quickly got started in our training. The morning was a very filled on. Till noon we jogged almost five hundred laps which I actually kept up on, and then we did exercises, like push-ups, sit-ups, and such.

When it was finally noon I left the two and headed back to Hinata's. She told me it was one of the easiest jobs she had ever done, and that the little 'angel' was a load of fun. Then we sat down and started to talk about chakara points. Neji showed up at one point and also listened throwing in his own comments. When we had finished our conversation I waved goodbye and headed towards the training grounds again. I met Kakashi and we headed off to the clearing. I set Akago down who was happy to be left alone. Then Kakashi and I trained the rest of the day away.

When I finally dragged myself into my room I was tired. 'At least I'm spending my time well.' I yawned. '**If you ever need my strength or energy feel free to have any.'** Naraku said. 'I always have my miko powers to strengthen me.' I said. He nodded in my head. 'You know I haven't heard from you in a while.' I said. He grinned. I sighed. I closed my eyes and appeared in his place. He was once again on his couch. He patted the seat beside him. I walked over and sat down.

'**So anything on your mind?'**

'I feel as if something is going to happen.' I said thoughtfully.

'**Then something probably is. Always trust your gut feelings.'**

I nodded.

'**So is that it?'**

'Well I'm kind of getting bored.'

'**What do you mean bored?'**

'Well I'm only training. I hope Tsunade sends me on a mission soon.'

'**Mh.'**

He lay down putting his head in my lap and grinning up at me. I sighed thoughtfully. I barely noticed as his fingers twirled a piece of my hair. After a minute I sighed again.

'Well I better go sleep.'

'**Why not sleep in here with me?'**

'I have to watch Akago.'

I blinked. I realized I hadn't told him I didn't want to. It actually was tempting to stay in here with him. He was quite an intelligent person to talk with. And he listened. No one had listened to me before. Not like this. Only my real mother had. I shook my head and stood. He lifted his head so I could get up.

'**Come visit soon.'** He grinned.

I nodded and returned to the real world. I sighed and slid into my bed with Akago.

.--.

For a little over a week I did the same thing each day. I trained with Gai and Lee. Then I visited or trained for an hour with Hinata and sometimes Neji. Then I would run off to meet Kakashi. We would train till the sun was setting. Then I would return to my house and read some of the books Dad had left me. Finally I would curl into bed with Akago. Then one day I was training with Gai when Sakura found me.

"Kagome!"

She waved. I stopped and waited.

"Yes?" I asked.

"We are wanted in the Hokage's tower."

"Okay. I'll be there in a minute."

She nodded and left. I apologized to Gai and lee and headed for Hinata's. I grabbed Akago quickly and headed for the Hokage's tower. I reached her office at the same time as Kakashi. He glanced at me as we walked in. We found Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto already there. Tsunade sat at her desk looking serious.

"I have a mission for you."

Naruto's face lit up, Sakura smiled softly and the rest of us remained calm.

"It is an s-class."

We all perked up at this.

"It is to spy on Kisame and Itachi of Akatsuki. They were spotted nearby. If capture is possible we recommend it."

Sasuke had tensed and everyone glanced at him.

"Try not to kill them. They have information we want."

Everyone nodded.

"You will leave immediately.

We all nodded.

"You are dismissed." She said as she tossed Kakashi the scroll with the details of the mission.

"Meet by the gate in fifteen minutes." Kakashi said.

We all nodded. I didn't want to waste time so I did the hand signs for the transportation jutsu. We appeared in my room. I grabbed my bag and stuffed a change of clothes, my weapon scrolls, and soldier pills in. Then I strapped my weapon pouches and my swords on. I stuffed a black forest cloak in my bag, my father's old ANBU mask, and a book I was reading from my father. I grabbed my sash and hung it on and gently set Akago in it. I pulled my pack on. Then I hurried out the door. I grabbed my canteen and filled it and grabbed a quick missed breakfast. I finally walked briskly towards Kohona's gates. When I reached it I saw Naruto already waiting. I smiled at him. He looked excited. Sakura showed up a minute later followed by Sasuke. Finally Kakashi arrived. He glanced at Akago.

"Couldn't he have stayed with Hinata?"

"No." Akago said.

Kakashi sighed and motioned us to follow as he walked out of the gates. We were happy to follow. We walked in silence for a while each wrapped up in our own thoughts. Finally I cleared my throat. Everyone looked at me as we continued to watch.

"Would you tell me about Itachi and Kisame? I know nothing of either of them."

I actually knew a little on Itachi but not much.

"Well Itachi murdered his entire clan and left for Akatsuki an infamous group of the strongest criminals." Kakashi said.

"The criminals live together? From my experiences criminals who stay together end up killing the others in days."

"Well they lasted. Actually I think they formed, a little before you left. Well Itachi is probably one of the strongest but they are all strong. Itachi is the best in genjutsus but his taijutsu is also flawless. I doubt he makes a mistake in any ninja art. He has the Mangekyou too so don't look into his eyes. Now Kisame is a ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist. He looks almost a bit like a shark. He is best with water jutsus and his sword. His sword is Samehade. It absorbs chakara so don't let it touch you."

I nodded as I processed this info. Naraku did the same. Akago listened too. I saw Sasuke was clenching and unclenching his hands.

"So Sasuke why did he leave you alive?"

Sasuke tensed and the others said with their eyes to drop it. I ignored it.

"I don't know." Sasuke hissed.

I rolled my eyes.

"If he is as bad as you say it is obvious why he left you alive."

They all looked at me.

"I once knew a woman. Her name was Sango. She was part of a demon slayer clan. One day her, her brother, her father, and a few others were called to kill a demon. They were tricked and her brother ended up killing them all. Then demons led by this one demon whipped out her village. This was all set up by a demon named Naraku. Sango lived for revenge. Naraku had plenty of time to kill her but he always let her live, torturing her. Then when she had finally accepted the fact her family was gone Naraku killed her."

**'I was bored. And it is so fun to tease people who are dense and see how far you can push them.**' Naraku smiled happily. I ignored him. The others watched me.

"Did she kill Naraku in the end?" Sakura asked

I laughed.

"Of course not! She was too consumed by hatred and revenge. That is idiotic. If you let those emotions rule you make mistakes. You become blind to the obvious. Naraku taunted her telling her to hate him so that she would be more sport. If she had perhaps thrown the rage away, she would still be alive. She had accepted it in the end and tried to move on. That was stupid. The person toying with her wouldn't let her walk away. She gave up revenge which was smart, but then ignored everything else including caution and common sense."

There was silence.

"Didn't you say Sango was one of your companions?" Naruto asked.

"Yes."

"Then why do you sound as if she got what she deserved?" Sakura asked.

"She kind of did. I'm not saying I wished for her death but it was a bit stupid."

"So how did Naraku kill her?" Sasuke interrupted.

"You know her brother who killed them that I mentioned?"

They nodded.

"Naraku used him as a puppet. Sango believed he could be saved and wouldn't kill him. But it was pointless. Her brother was dead. Naraku was just using his body. He killed her in the end. Then Naraku disposed of him."

They watched me a minute. I just ignored their stares and starred straight ahead.

"So did Naraku die in the end?" Sakura asked.

"No. No one killed him. He is still alive."

"But then he will be destroying the lives of others." She said.

"It is not my problem. I had no quarrel with Naraku other then to get my jewel."

They all looked away thoughtfully. '**Not true. You really hated me for a while when you couldn't think straight.'** Naraku grinned. 'I know but by the time I hunted you down it wasn't because I hated you. It was because I felt as if I had to, to make my friends be at peace. To fulfil what I had spent my last few years trying to do.' I said. I felt as if he nodded. 'Well it doesn't mater since I didn't kill you I just sealed you.' '**Yes. Now you have to deal with me for the rest of your life**.' I faked a groan. Before when I had first sealed him it had almost felt like a curse but now it meant I would always have some one there for me. And Naraku and I seemed to bond a lot. He seemed to understand me. He actually did since he knew everything about me. I saw him grin and grinned back.

Everyone was quiet once again. I didn't care much. We walked for a while longer then jumped to the tree tops and started to run. After a while conversation started but it was a bit distant. I stayed silent a lot. When the sun was finally set we all dropped from the trees to the ground. I went to get food while the other got the rest of the stuff taken care of. I returned to camp with a bunch of fish. I stuck them over the fire and sat down. I pulled my cloak from my pack and wrapped it around Akago and me. Naruto handed me my canteen which he had filled. I thanked him. We ate quickly and organized watches. I was almost last so I lay on a bed of moss and let Akago curl up to me under my cloak. I easily drifted off. It was nice to be outdoors again.

.--.

I woke as if an alarm clock had gone off in my head. I saw Sasuke sitting on a log by the dim fire. I left Akago under my cloak and slipped up behind Sasuke. I rested a hand on his shoulder. He spun to me in surprise weapon out. When he saw it was me he lowered his knife and stood. I nodded to him and he just walked to his cloak. He was asleep in minutes. I sat by the fire. I took a deep breath and let a small amount of spiritual power flow over the camp. It set up like an alarm and would alert me if anyone came with in ten feet of the clearing.

Then I closed my eyes. I felt myself slip into Naraku's 'room'. He was sleeping on a black bed. I had noticed that he slept at least as much as me. I walked silently to his bed. I stood looking down at his face. He seemed so handsome and peaceful when sleeping. I smiled. I loved his wavy hair. I reached down to brush some from his face. I squeaked as he grabbed my wrist and pulled my over him. I felt him roll with me. When I opened my eyes he was over top of me grinning. I scowled slightly as I realized he had me pinned.

'**What do I owe for this visit?'**

'I have watch duty.'

'**Shouldn't you be keeping watch then?'**

'It's simple enough to keep a barrier type watch thing around camp.'

He grinned. I sniffed. I tied to move but he grinned more. I pouted.

'Can you let me up?'

'**Why?'**

'Because….'

I though for a moment.

'Because this is a very awkward position we are in.'

He grinned again. But he slowly sat up. I propped myself up and we sat on the black bed.

'Can't you color the place up a bit?'

'**But I like black.'**

'Even red or purple would be better.'

The bed suddenly turned a deep purple.

'**Better?'**

'It's a start.'

I grinned as he rolled his eyes. We sat in silence a second. After a minute he started to talk and we soon fell into a deep conversation of everything. We didn't focus on a complete subject only jumped from topic to topic. I had to cut off as I knew the sun was rising. I opened my eyes and looked to the others. Kakashi was just sitting up. The sun was just poking over the horizon. I slipped off when Kakashi was up. I got more fish and returned to camp to find the others up. We quickly cooked and ate the fish then leapt into the trees again. This day was very much like the last. We had quiet conversations which I for the most part didn't participate in. That night it was the same as the last. Except when it was my watch and I joined Naraku we sparred.

.--.

The day was quieter then the last. Everyone was tense because we were getting closer to our destination. I had that feeling in my gut again. Even Naraku was serious and alert. At noon we slowed and Kakashi gather us together.

"They should be around here. Stay together. If it comes to a fight stay back to back. If you are being overpowered retreat." Kakashi said.

"Hai." We all said.

We went to move again and I grabbed Kakashi by the arm. He looked at me. I kissed him on the cheek. I had a feeling I wouldn't see him for a while.

"Just in case I want to say goodbye."

"Don't be so negative. We'll all be fine." He said.

We leapt off.

"I hope so." I muttered.

Everyone slipped on their ANBU masks too. We ran at a slower pace going more for stealth now then speed. After about an hour we all stopped dead in our tracks. I scowled as I sensed about six people surrounding us. We all tensed and dropped from the trees. We stood back to back each facing a different direction.

"What are four Kohona ANBU doing way out here?" Some one asked.

Six shadows emerged from the trees. Each wore a black cloak with red clouds. One I recognized as Itachi. Then there was a shark man who I guessed was Kisame. A little ways off stood a blonde who looked like Ino and a red head. Then there was a man with an orange swirl mask and a large man who had half a black and half a white face and who looked to be being eaten by a large plant. They all watched us as we watched them.

"What are four ANBU doing here? And one has a child no less." The shark said.

Akago was silent in my sash regarding all the men.

"Retreat if we can?" I whispered only loud enough for Kakashi to hear.

"We probably won't be able to." He said.

I heard a hint of frustration and worry. I nodded curtly.

"Could you use a transportation Jutsu?" I asked.

"Yes but they would strike before we could." Kakashi said.

"What are you chatting about, un?" The blonde asked smirking.

None of us answered.

"If I put up a barrier can you escape?" I asked.

Kakashi gave a curt nod. I grinned behind my mask as I called my miko powers forwards.

Itachi's POV:

I watched the woman with the long black hair and the infant. She wore a wolf mask. I had never seen an ANBU like her from Kohona. She must have been new. But I wondered about the child. Who would bring an infant on a mission unless there mission was to protect him. The black haired woman was talking to the copy ninja. Suddenly she took a step forwards. All our eyes widened as a pink barrier sprang up around them. None of them had done any hand signs. My sharingan also showed me this was not made of chakara. It was some other form of energy.

"This is not chakara." I said.

Everyone glanced at me in slight surprise. We all cursed mentally as we saw the copy ninja, the one with blonde hair, the one with pink hair, and the one I assumed was my brother, do transportation jutsus. I saw the woman was still standing there. I heard her curse.

"_Why do you not follow your friends little ANBU_?" Zetsu's white side asked.

"Well as you see this barrier is taking my attention at the moment. I can't use my chakara and keep this up at the same time."

She seemed ticked off. Deidara grinned, Tobi clapped, Zetsu scowled/smiled, Kisame chuckled, and Sasori and I remained blank.

"And I am not an ANBU."

We all looked at her.

"Just thought I'd give the facts straight." She mumbled.

I thought a moment. She seemed different from most ninja.

"Then why do you wear one of their masks?" Sasori asked.

"To hide my identity and because it was my fathers."

"Sweet, un." Deidara chuckled.

I heard her sigh. Then she pulled the mask off. We all looked at her face. It was pretty with large brown eyes and luscious lips. She stuffed the mask into the sash with the child.

"I thought you were trying to hide your identity." Kisame said.

"Well this mask restricts my vision and it is uncomfortable."

I mentally agreed. I had worn one before. She looked us all over and pulled out a sword.

"_Going to take us all on?"_ Zetsu's white side asked.

"**Foolish**." His black side said.

"Well maybe it is a foolish for a normal ninja. But I'm not normal. Besides what am I to do? I can't use chakara while making a barrier and you cut off all escape routes. I could keep this barrier up for days but I doubt I would last that long without food and water."

The pink suddenly rippled and disintegrated. We all stood ready. The woman got into an offensive position. I couldn't recognize it as any taijutsu stance. She raised her sword. I looked over it. It looked ordinary but the hilt looked like it had two dragons winding around it.

"Hold on Akago." She said.

The baby gurgled like it understood. I looked at the unusual child. The purple hair was odd enough but his light purple eyes were unreal. It watched me closely. She seemed to watch us all. Kisame grinned.

"Can I try her first?"

We all glanced at one another and shrugged. He pulled the bandages off of Samehade and stepped forwards.

"Nice sword. But I have been bigger." The woman said.

"Really?"

"Yes. Bankotsu and Banryuu could out class all off you. And size doesn't matter. I know Sesshomaru and his Tokijin would wipe you all from existence."

None of the names were familiar so I stored them in my memory. I saw the woman's eyes look for an escape route. Kisame lunged in almost a blur his sword hacking. We expected to see the girl with a sword through her but her sword blocked his. Our eyes widened. I had never seen a sword survive a direct hit from Samehade.

"Totosi does his work well." The woman said to Kisame who was starring.

I was guessing Totosi was the sword smith who had made her sword. Kisame grinned.

"This may be some fun after all."

He jumped back and spun. In a blur the girl leapt out of the way. She dived in low slashing up. Kisame stepped back as her sword nicked his cloak. She was good if she had even nicked Kisame. She jumped back getting ready. I scowled as I looked at the infant. He was gripping her shirt and didn't seem even uncomfortable as the woman fought. Most infants would be crying from fright. He was not a normal child. He saw me looking and smirked. I blinked and the woman was getting ready. Kisame lunged in again.

They exchanged blow after blow. I noticed Kisame kept getting nicks and cuts while the woman wasn't even letting his sword close to her. Suddenly they locked blades. Kisame grinned and used his size and weight to push the woman to her knees. I had noticed that as she fought she got on an emotionless mask. She didn't do anything now but look Kisame in the eyes. Then suddenly Kisame was blown back into a tree. We saw a wave of the pink energy had hit him. He slid down the tree and stood wobbly. He looked badly shaken and his breathing was laboured suggesting a broken rib or so. He was also smoking a bit.

"My turn, un!" Deidara said diving in.

The woman let a small scowl grace her face. I almost smirked. She seemed to realize we were going to battle her one on one till she died. Deidara immediately whipped out his clay making his clay birds. Kagome looked at the first on in confusion. As soon as it touched her shoulder it exploded. She was thrown back into a tree cradling the child. She had dropped her sword but Deidara ignore it as he grinned at the woman.

"Bombs." The woman whispered as she stood.

The whole shoulder of her shirt was gone but her skin looked untouched. We saw a thin layer of the pink energy on her skin and guessed she had defended just in time. The child appeared unhurt too. She looked at Deidara with squinted eyes. She glanced to her sword. I stepped forwards and reached for the hilt. Before I even touched the handle she smirked. As soon as my skin touched the handle it burned me. I pulled my hand back hissing slightly and looked at the burn marks. I scowled slightly. Sasori walked up and grabbed the handle.

"No fair using people who aren't really alive." She muttered.

Sasori's eyes widened slightly. Few knew he was almost a puppet himself. Deidara was beside her in a second his kunai going for her throat. Before it even touched her the pink light threw him back. He did a flip and landed better then Kisame. He scowled and threw more bombs. The woman jumped up and seemed to almost glide between each bomb to her target. I barely saw her arm move as a dagger came out of her sleeve and aimed at Deidara. Sasori threw a kunai at her and she had to jump back before she hit Deidara. She seemed to be tiring. I guessed anyone would. And the blasts of pink seemed to wear her out more. She dodged more bombs. Suddenly one exploded. She gasped as it hit her back. She almost rolled as she flew back on the ground. She winced as she lifted a bleeding arm.

Deidara went in but stopped as the pink surrounded her. Then the woman sat down. She grabbed the infant and laid him in front of her. Suddenly her hand glowed pink. She drew the kanji for protection of the child. Pink surrounded him then sunk into his skin. Then she slowly pulled her bag off her back. She ripped through the contents and pulled two scrolls out. She drew the kanji for seal over them. They lit up pink and then turned normal in a second. She stuffed the scrolls in her bag. Then she grabbed the child again.

"Behave. You are safe; I protected you with the spell."

The child seemed to nod. The woman rose shakily to her feet. The pink barrier disappeared and Deidara lunged in but her foot lashed out and he flew back hard into Sasori who caught him. The woman's eyes seemed to flash red a minute. She snarled like a wolf. I could swear I saw small fangs. I stepped forwards ready to end this. She seemed to snarl again as she barred her teeth at us. It surprised not just me but the others. She seemed different. Before she had acted blank but in control. Now she acted like a cornered wolf. She pulled five senbon from a pouch and got ready. I leaped in a blur. She lashed out with the needles like they were claws. I saw the infant was back in the sash. She flew back as I kicked her in the stomach. She crouched as she hit the ground. I saw small fangs again.

She scanned the area for an escape route again. The others blocked her though. Suddenly we all heard the howl of wolves. They sounded close. Then the woman lifted her hands to her mouth. She let out a long wolf like howl startling us all. We stood waiting as she looked in one direction. Suddenly six large brown wolves leapt from the tree snarling. Kisame, Tobi, and Deidara leapt to the side avoiding their snapping jaws. Then the wolves leapt to the woman. The whimpered slightly and licked her wound. We all just watched in surprise and curiosity. Suddenly the woman let out a bark. She started to make barks, whimpers, and growls. Then she pointed in the direction they had come as if ordering them to leave. The wolves perked up and snarled at us.

"She's talking to them." Sasori said in interest

The wolves lined up in front of her. She snarled and they all leapt at us; one for each of the others. I dodged and went for the wolf's throat with my kunai but the wolf jumped back. It was faster then normal wolves. I saw the woman jumping to save the one that was going to get nailed by Deidara's bomb. She jumped in front of the bomb. Everything froze as she screamed. She was thrown back with a huge wound on her stomach. We all wondered why she had saved a pitiful wolf. The wolves all backed to her. She shook her head as they whimpered. She snarled and motioned for them to leave again. They shook their heads.

"I said leave!"

Her tone was harsh and still half a snarl. The wolves wilted back a bit.

"Leave." She hissed to them.

They cast her one more look. Then they turned and lunged at us. She cried out and tried to stop them. All of us were ready now. I lunged in and slashed the first one's throat. Kisame killed two at once and Deidara killed two too. Sasori poisoned the last one. We turned to look at the woman. We blinked as we saw her crying. She hadn't cried when almost dieing but now she was.

"YOU BASTARDS! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"

Her anger surprised us all. Her eyes suddenly turned red.

"How dare you kill my kin?"

Her tone was deeper and darker. Suddenly she took a deep breath and her eyes changed back.

"Deep breathes. They aren't worth it." She mumbled to her self.

I stepped forwards quickly. She slowly backed away. As she did faint pink covered her and her wounds healed. When her back hit a tree I smirked and stepped forwards. Then in another step I was gone. I reappeared less then a foot in front of her. I hit the pressure point on her neck and she collapsed as I grabbed her.

"Why not kill her?" Sasori asked.

"I'm sure you are as curious as I am about the pink powers, the sword, the wolves, the red eyes, and the child. Besides we could get information out of her."

They all nodded. I took the child from the sash. The child seemed to glare at me. Tobi skipped to me. He took the child in his arms. The child looked at him and tilted his head in interest. Tobi laughed and started to hum. I ignored him and swung the girl over my shoulder. I blinked as I realized she was quite light. I shrugged and turned to the others.

"Let's go."

We all did the hand signs and disappeared from the clearing.

Kakashi's POV:

"She didn't come back with you?" Tsunade frowned.

"She set up a barrier around us while we escaped." Naruto said.

"Why didn't she follow?"

There was silence a minute.

"She told me the other day that she can not use her chakara and miko powers at the same time. They are to complex to use at the same time and when she tries she can't control both of them. I forgot." I whispered.

The others winced.

"So she is alone with six members of Akatsuki." Sakura said.

"We'll send out a squad immediately." Tsunade said. "Shizune! Get Gai, Lee, Neji, Hinata, and Shikamaru, for me."

We heard a 'hai' from outside the door.

"Kakashi, there is a high chance she is dead."

I winced. It was hard to think that my only family, my niece was dead for saving us. I took a deep breath. My last family member; gone.

"You may go on the rescue mission if you want."

I nodded. If she wasn't dead I would rescue her. If she was dead I would kill them all. I had my emotions behind my emotionless mask and waited for the others.

Kagome's POV:

The first thing I felt was the metal shackles around my arms and legs. I slowly opened my eyes. I remember red eyes before I had seen darkness. Naraku said Itachi had knocked me out. I wasn't too worried. I now had all my miko powers back and I hadn't used much chakara. I had been tired because of the blasts of miko powers I had used but felt much better now. I knew Akago would be okay. I had cast a miko spell on him that would protect him from harm. And I had cast spells on my weapon scrolls. They would not be able to be opened. My sword would also burn those who touched it with out my permission. It was almost lucky that they had the puppet man. Without him my sword would have been left behind.

I sighed as I looked up. I was in a dark cell. I was dangling from two metal cuffs around my wrists. They were connected to the wall by a chain. they held me up slightly. I had shackles around my ankles holding me to the wall too. I slowly stood and winced. My wrists were cut from where I had been hanging. I let my miko powers heal the cuts. I looked around. I realized I was in a cell of sorts. The door across from me was a strong metal one and the walls and floor were stone. I looked around for a minute. **'Are you going to get out now?' **Naraku asked. 'No. I want to find out why they caught me. Besides just melting the metal with my miko powers and walking out would be boring.' I grinned.

He sighed and I closed my eyes. I saw him reclining in a chair with a book I had once read. He must have pulled the memory from my mind and put it in book form. I sat down beside him on the couch.

'**You were so made over a few wolves being killed. Why?'**

'Well before I left the wolf clan they adopted me as their sister. I had to drink some of the leader's blood. It changed me. I can now talk to wolves and they are like my family. I also have the senses the same as the wolves, like sight, hearing, taste, and smelling. And since the leader adopted me I am high enough in rank to command them. And they will obey me. But I still love them all so their deaths hurt me.'

'**You almost combined with me.'**

'What does that mean?'

'**You can use my energy but when you get really made we merge a bit. We become like one. You would have my powers and think more like me.'**

'Is that bad?'

'**No. But it's a useful trick we should save for emergencies because it's exhausting to do and a good surprise.'**

'Would we stay merged?'

'**No, we would separate becoming two different souls when our body was to tired to continue or we had finished what we had wanted to do.' **

I nodded then I opened my eyes again as the door to the cell opened. Itachi and the red head walked in. Itachi walked up to me. He unlocked my chains. I stepped forwards watching them as I rubbed my wrists. Itachi glanced at me and walked out. I followed as was expected. The red head walked behind me. They led me down some winding halls. I realized we were at their base. It was like a maze.

Suddenly they stopped and opened a door. The red head pushed me in after Itachi. We were in what looked like a large meeting room. There was a large table and a lot of chairs. I looked over the people sitting in them. There was the swirly mask man, the shark, the bomber dude, a silver haired man, a masked man, a man with orange hair and piercings, and a woman with blue hair and a paper flower. Itachi pushed me forwards and stood beside me at the end of the table. The red head sat beside the blonde bomber. Everyone looked at me. I starred at the woman a moment. Then I looked to the orange haired guy. He seemed to be the leader. I noticed that my sword was in front of him along with my scrolls, still sealed, and bag. The swirly mask man held Akago, who just watched him curiously.

"Tobi, go get Zetsu. He is late." The orange haired man.

"Okay!" The swirly mask man, Tobi said.

He handed Akago to Kisame who scowled slightly as he held Akago on his lap awkwardly. Then Tobi skipped from the room.

"Why haven't we killed the kid yet?" Kisame asked.

"Because we can't, un." The blonde said.

"She put a jutsu of some sort on him." The red head said.

Kisame scowled and pulled a kunai out. He went to kill Akago put my spell activated and a barrier sprang up. Everyone glanced at it.

"So what am I doing here? I thought I would be dead by now." I said.

Everyone snapped their attention to me.

"We want some answers." The leader said.

There was silence a moment.

"What is your name?" The blue haired woman asked.

I smirked.

"Not telling. Anyways you should know." I said.

They all scowled and the blue haired woman blinked.

"You know I'm bored of this I think I want to go home." I yawned.

"You wouldn't make it two feet." Itachi said.

"Want to bet?" I asked.

They all scowled. I glanced at Akago who smirked and gripped Kisame's shirt. I saw Kisame's eyes dull immediately as he sagged a bit. I smirked. Itachi scowled at me and narrowed his eyes, as if trying to read my mind.

"Well this may be some fun." I grinned.

Everyone blinked. The blonde and the silver haired man who were beside Kisame ducked as his sword lashed out almost decapitating them.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" The silver haired man yelled.

Everyone looked to Kisame who stood feet spread, in half a crouch. He held Akago in one arm and his sword in the other. His face looked empty. His eyes were dull and almost fogged over by Akago. He lunged at the Leader. The leader disappeared and reappeared out of harms way in the blink of an eye. Kisame grabbed my sword. It didn't hurt him since I didn't mind him touching it. He grabbed it and in a blur was by me. I took the sword.

"Keep them busy. Let's see how long they can last." I said.

Akago smirked darkly. The masked man and silver haired man dived at me. Kisame slid in front of me and attempted to hit them. They jumped back to the others but not before Kisame's sword nicked the silver haired man's cloak.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU SHARK-FACE?!" The silver haired man asked.

"Nothing." Kisame said as directed by Akago.

Few noticed me as I grabbed my bag and scrolls from the table. I whistled. Kisame and Akago jumped back to me and I let a pink barrier spring up around us and the two end chairs. I sat and Kisame stood behind me. Everyone watched closely. I crossed my legs and intertwined my fingers. I looked everyone over.

"No need to stand. I am not going to attack without warning again."

No one moved a moment. Then suddenly the door opened and Zetsu and Tobi walked in. They stiffened as they saw everyone with weapons drawn. They spotted us and scowled.

"**What-"** The plant started.

"Kisame is under a spell or something." The red head said.

The plant looked at me and nodded slightly. Leader suddenly sat back in his chair. The woman and the red head also did. Slowly everyone did the same. I just watched them. **'You are thinking of asking to join?' **Naraku asked. 'Yes.' '**Interesting. I would say it is almost a smart choice. The people in Konoha are weak and soft.**' I silently agreed. They seemed to all be watching me and wondering what I was thinking.

"So do you want your shark back?" I asked.

They all nodded.

"Whose partner is he?"

"Itachi's." Pein said.

"Why not kill him now while he tries to kill you? It would be much easier." I said.

"We do not want to have to replace him. And he is a good…. asset." Itachi said.

Everyone glanced at him.

"So you are friends."

"As close as friends as you can be with a murderer." Pein said.

"So you aren't a bunch of criminals who are always at one another's throats."

They all shook their heads.

"There may be a lot of arguing but we get along on some level." Pein said.

I scowled slightly.

"My experience with criminals is no mater how strong or weak they are they never tolerate others for too long."

"We still have some humanity in us. At least most of us do." Pein said.

They all nodded. They all stayed focused on me and I stayed focused on them, though. Suddenly an idea popped into my head. I reached into my back pack and pulled out my silver mirror. Everyone looked at it. It wasn't an ordinary mirror. I had taken it from Kanna. I had mastered it too. It hadn't been that hard. Now I could locate people and spy on them by focusing on their energy. I took a deep breath and my reflection in the mirror swirled changing to that of a man with silver hair and an ANBU mask. It was my uncle. He was surrounded by others. They were easily leaping through the trees.

"Nine Konoha ninja are headed for us."

They all blinked.

"How do you know?" Zetsu asked in a dark voice.

I looked up.

"My mirror tells all."

They all blinked then scowled. I looked at Itachi and motioned him forwards. He slowly stepped towards me. When he reached my barrier the pink lifted and he stepped in keeping an eye on the still Kisame. He walked up to me and looked down at the mirror. He blinked and leaned in closer. I pointed to a few of the figures.

"Gai, Lee, Neji, Hinata, the shadow boy, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi."

He looked at me from the corner of his eye then stepped back. My barrier let him back out.

"They are coming." He confirmed to the others.

"How?" Pein asked.

"This is a special mirror. It once belonged to a woman with unique powers."

"If someone else owned it how did you get it?" The red head asked.

"I killed the woman."

There was silence. '**Kanna was one of my best reincarnations. Her mirror was so useful. But you use it better then her**.' Naraku said. 'I know.' I smirked.

"Any reason for killing her?" Pein asked.

"I guess I just killed her cause I wanted to."

There was more silence. I looked over them as I put my mirror back in my bag.

"Can I join Akatsuki?" I asked.

They all blinked. Then they just starred. I rolled my eye sand leaned back in my chair. There was silence.

"You want to join?" Pein asked.

I nodded.

"Well you are certainly strong enough." He said. "But how do we know we can trust?"

"Want me to swear in blood or something?"

There was more silence.

"What skills do you have, first?"

"I am a bit rusty in my ninja a skills but I know hand to hand combat, how to wield a sword, bow, and any kind of knife. Then I can also use the mirror some wind jutsus. And I have my miko powers."

"Miko…. You're a miko?" The woman asked in surprise.

"They died out hundreds of years ago." The red head said.

I rolled my eyes.

"Well I'm a miko. The barrier and powers I used before are proof."

They looked at me and slowly nodded.

"A miko with ninja powers." Pein mumbled.

I snorted softly. That was exactly what Tsunade had said.

"Well if you swear in blood we would love to have you." Pein said.

I smiled. He grabbed a scroll and rolled it to me. I unrolled it and bit my thumb. I smeared my name in blood; promising not to kill them without a very good reason and not to give info to other groups. And to abandon my village. **'Things will be getting interesting.**' Naraku chuckled. 'Yes. They will.' I agreed. I tossed the scroll back to Pein. He grabbed it and held onto it. I let my pink barrier drop.

"So how are you controlling Kisame?" The masked man asked.

"I'm not."

They all blinked.

"Akago is."

"The kid, un?" The blonde asked in disbelief.

"Yes." I replied.

They all starred at Akago who smirked.

"Want me to release him from the spell?" I asked.

They all nodded. Kisame stepped forwards and held Akago out. I grabbed him. As soon as he was no longer touching Kisame, Kisame stumbled back. He blinked a moment and flexed his hands. Then he shot Akago a glare and snarled.

"You damn brat!"

He almost pulled his sword free.

"Kisame." Pein said.

Kisame stopped but still glared at Akago who seemed to smirk at him.

"_So you couldn't break free from his control_?" Zetsu asked almost childishly.

"No. I could only watch as the brat controlled me. It was like I was trapped in my own mind."

He almost glared at us. I nodded.

"So what do we do about the fucking Konoha nin?" The silver haired man asked.

"I could go meet them." I said.

They all looked at me.

"I could pretend I escaped, go back to Konoha, grab my things, and then come back."

Pein smirked.

"Good idea. I agree."

"Can I leave Akago here? It'll seem more real if I don't come back as I left."

"Tobi can watch him." Pein said.

"Hooray!" Tobi said.

Akago snorted softly. Tobi skipped forwards and grabbed Akago.

"How come Kisame was controlled and not Tobi, un?" The blonde asked.

"Akago can choose who he wants to control. He listens to me though."

They all nodded.

"Well I guess we should introduce ourselves." Pein said. "I'm Pein, the leader of Akatsuki. This is my partner Konan."

I smiled and nodded.

"I'm Deidara, un! I'm the bomb expert. Sasori is my partner, un!" The blonde grinned.

"I am Sasori a puppet master." Sasori said in a bored tone.

"I'm Hidan, Jashin's loyal follower." The silver haired man said.

"I'm his partner Kakuzu." The masked man said.

"I'm Kisame, Itachi's partner." Kisame sighed.

"Uchiha Itachi." Itachi said bluntly.

"Tobi is Tobi! Tobi is a good boy!" Tobi laughed.

"**We're Zetsu."** A dark voice said.

"_We're Tobi's partner and Akatsuki's spy_." A kinder voice said.

"He's bipolar." Pein explained.

I nodded.

"I'm Kagome."

"Well we hope you enjoy your stay here." Pein grinned.

"I'm already having fun sitting here." I said with sarcasm.

Most grinned or smirked.

"So I guess I should go meet my 'friends'."

"Itachi will show you the way." Pein said.

Itachi nodded. He motioned me and I stood. Tobi took my bag for me saying he would guard it. I left my sword too. Then I followed Itachi out the door.

"I like her." Hidan said.

Everyone blinked and then gaped at him. He blinked.

"What?" He asked.

"You rarely approve of anyone." I said.

"Pein's right. You rarely even feel a smidge of like for new people." Kakuzu said.

"You usually start planning how to sacrifice them from the moment they walk in." Konan said blankly.

"Well she … is nice. And I feel…. Calm, relaxed around her. Like there's nothing to worry about and everything will be alright." The god loving man muttered.

"I felt the same, un."

"Tobi too." Tobi squeaked.

"_Same as us." _Zetsu's white side chirped.

"She does have a calming air around her." Kisame admitted.

"I think she'll fit in nicely if you all like her already." I said.

"We didn't say we liked her. We just said she makes us relaxed. And she has a pure air about her." Kisame said.

"She is a miko. She has spiritual powers and is born pure. She can not contain real hate unless what she hates is pure evil. Hate and rage are against her nature. Not that she can't feel either." Sasori said.

His usually bored eyes were thoughtful.

"What about Akago?" Tobi asked.

"You are in charge of watching him. He still has the spell on him and Kagome would be mad at us if he was hurt. I don't want to feel the wrath of a miko. If she's as strong as you say and as strong as we saw, we would have a fight on our hands." I said.

"Okay Leader!" Tobi chirped. "What about her bag?"

"You will look after that too."

Tobi nodded and started to hum to the infant who watched him curiously.

"So Kisame any feelings of dislike to the two?" I asked.

If anyone would hate them it would be Kisame for being used.

"Well I'm a bit ticked that she used me but it's hard to stay mad at her. She seems too …innocent to be mad at."

I snorted softly but nodded. She had interrupted my meeting and hadn't given me very many answers but I almost couldn't help but forgive her.

"Well this meetings over." I said standing.

Everyone nodded and seemed to hurry from the room. I sighed and waited till the others were gone. When only Konan and I were left I looked at the Akatsuki female. She was looking thoughtful.

"She seems familiar." Konan muttered.

"Well you can ask her if you've met later."

"I guess you're right."

I sighed.

"Do you think we should keep an eye on her for a while?" I asked.

"She signed the scroll promising to be loyal to us."

"Yes but she is a miko. She may know spells that can get her out of that promise."

"She should stay with one of the others for a while till we can trust her."

"We'll talk when she returns."

Konan nodded. I remembered all the paper work waiting for me on my desk and sighed before walking off.

Itachi's POV:

I led the way out of the base soundlessly. I kept an eye on the woman though. She looked everywhere. I knew she was trying to memorize the base. As we walked I noticed she made no more noise then me and her moves were all graceful like a predator. When we emerged from the large house we walked out into a clearing. The base was a large house. The whole place had a genjutsu like barrier surrounding it for three kilometres in every direction.

The barrier made sure no one could enter the base with out being near another member or wearing one of the Akatsuki rings. If someone else came upon the barrier they wouldn't even notice it. That was the genjutsu part. It would turn the person around or make them go around without even letting them realize they had headed back or gone around. That's why the base had stayed hidden so long. I didn't bother to explain as I leapt to the branches of the trees. I sensed Kagome follow closely. She seemed a bit familiar, like I had met her before. I didn't want to ask though. I would remember in time. Suddenly she whipped out a kunai. I tensed slightly. She spun it around and sliced her arm. I blinked.

"What?" Was all I asked.

"I need to make it look like I was a prisoner." She said.

I nodded. She jabbed the kunai into her thigh, hissing slightly. My respect for her rose a notch as she continued to hurt herself without yelling or crying. Finally when she was bleeding well and had numerous cuts she threw the kunai into a tree. Then she half healed the cuts.

"Now when we reach them I will look exhausted and the medic Sakura won't suspect anything because my cuts will be a bit old."

I nodded at the logic. Then I turned and hurried on. We moved silently over the branches. When we reached the barrier we passed through like it wasn't there. Kagome looked at it a moment then shrugged and continued to follow me. We ran for over four hours. Then we sensed the ninja ahead of us camping for the night. By now it was a little after sunset. I looked at Kagome. She had masked her chakara and presence long ago like me.

"We'll see ya." She winked.

Then she dropped from the trees. I watched as she stumbled to the camp.

Kakashi's POV:

We sat arounda fire. We all were alert. I prayed Kagome was okay. Suddenly someone stumbled into the camp. Their hair was black and tangle. Their face was pale and looked exhausted. Their clothes were torn and bloodied and the person had numerous wounds.

"Kagome." I gasped jumping up.

I hurried to her and caught her as she sagged. She was panting. She gave me a weak smile.

"How did you escape?" I asked.

"After they caught me four of them left leaving only two. I stunned them with my miko powers and ran for it."

I nodded and helped her to the fire. Everyone else was up and watching. Sakura hurried forwards and started to heal the wounds.

"These were made a few hours ago." She said.

"I had been unconscious. When I woke I was with the two and they wanted information. I didn't give anything away since I knew nothing." Kagome panted.

"Save your breath." Sakura said softly.

Kagome gave another weak smile.

"We should leave now." I said.

Everyone nodded quick agreement.

"Oh and Kagome this is Shikamaru."

Kagome smiled weakly at him. Then she closed her eyes and sighed softly. She looked to fall asleep.

"So she's your niece?" The shadow boy asked.

I nodded. He sighed and shifted his weight.

"I'll carry her." Neji said.

I looked at him a moment. He was watching Kagome. I smirked. It seemed he liked her. I nodded and he crouched down. He scooped her up bridal style. Hinata had doused the fire and everyone was ready. We knew we needed to leave. The two she stunned would be coming. Suddenly we felt the presence of another. We all tensed and got ready. Itachi dropped from the shadows of a tree. He looked us over his sharingan flickering. Sasuke was glaring at him. Sakura and Naruto held onto one of his arms.

"Seems she made it too you. Too bad. She was very interesting." Itachi's cruel voice cut in.

I scowled. So he had been one of the ones she had been left in. I could only guess she had surprised him with her miko powers of she would still be with him. He smirked. Then in the blink of an eye he was gone. I signalled for us to leave. Naruto dragged Sasuke off and everyone else nodded before, leaping to the trees. I noticed Sakura stayed quite close to Shikamaru who in turn stayed close to her. I grinned. I had found out who Sakura had been dating. I just shrugged it off and kept an eye on Neji and Kagome. Kagome seemed asleep.

Kagome's POV:

It may have looked to the others like I was asleep but I had just gone into my mind to visit Naraku. I now sat beside him on the couch. He just sat behind me. His fingers raked through my hair as I leaned back into his chest.

'So did I do the right thing joining the criminal group Akatsuki?' I asked.

'**I'm not sure, but I know you'll have a lot more reign in this group and you won't be held back.'**

'You think?'

'**They seem like those who want power. They want it to be strong for themselves. Konoha also wants power to be strong for others. Two different reasons. Akatsuki won't hold back. They will target what they want and go for it no mater who is in their way. Konoha will not do anything that will endanger the village or their friends. That will hold them back.'**

'I agree. I think staying with Akatsuki will be much more beneficial.'

'**You could benefit from staying in Konoha but in different lesser ways and you will be heart broken again. That Hyuuga boy likes you but I doubt you could live happily. You have changed and you can't go back to the carefree life with innocent friends.'**

'I almost wish I could go back. Go back and travel with my friends.'

'**You are a person who likes to have people there for her, but you like to be alone too. You want both and both need to be evened out. If you go to Konoha you will always be with others. They will always be around and after a while you not like it. Akatsuki will leave you alone but they will be there for you. And it will be much more interesting with them.'**

I nodded. I leaned farther back and relaxed against Naraku. He continued to comb his fingers through my hair. It helped me relax. I sighed and looked at the black roof of his 'room'.

'**This world is almost more interesting then the feudal era.'**

'That's because it's new. After a while it may not seem so interesting.'

'**You never know.'**

I sighed slightly and turned onto my side. Naraku stopped combing my hair and let me lean the side of my head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. I snuggled into his purple and black yukata. I felt safe in my mind with my former enemy. Odd but true. I just fell into thought as the two of sat there. After a while I stood and stretched. Naraku did the same. Since I had a few hours we decided to spar. It was a good way to excise and let time pass by.

After a few hours we were just doing training. Naraku had started to teach me how to use his abilities too. Since he was in me and almost part of me now I could use his power; his chakara, his strength. I could also use some of his abilities. He also taught me more about Kanna's mirror and Kagura's fan. I had grabbed both after killing the two. I really hadn't had any reason to kill the two. I had known the entire time they hadn't wanted to serve Naraku but I hadn't much cared. Hate was against the nature of a miko. So was death but I learned to stifle the part of me that hated killing and bury it deep. When we had trained enough we returned to the couch. Naraku sat and I sat between his legs with my back against his chest.

'So do you think we will fit in with Akatsuki?' I asked.

'**Most likely. You know they will find out about Akago being a demon and you having me inside of you.'**

'I don't really care. They're all weird to so it's not like we'll be the only different on their. Like look at Zetsu; bipolar and almost a plant. Sasori is almost a puppet himself. Kisame looks like a shark. Deidara has mouths on his hands. The others all have secrets too.'

'**I wonder how long it will take for them to realize that you have me in you. And I wonder how long Akago can keep his mouth shut.'**

'Well if I have to use your energy they'll know about you and if Akago feels like he will talk.'

'**Hmm. So what do you think of them?'**

'Well Itachi seems polite enough for murdering his clan, Kisame seems okay, Tobi is a bit weird, the silver haired man swears quite a bit, Zetsu is very odd, the masked man, Kakuzu seems quite calm, Sasori is intelligent and calm, Deidara seems nice, Konan seems quiet, and Pein seems serious but has a sense of humour.'

He nodded.

'Oh! And I could swear the plant man smells like blood and flesh.'

'**He does. I suspect he is a cannibal.'**

'But how could I smell that? I could only smell blood when there was a lot of it and I couldn't smell flesh.'

'**I suspect your senses are being enhanced by me. Your sense of smell will increase along with your sight, hearing, and maybe even touch and taste. And sharing blood with the wolf clan and being adopted will also have helped.'**

'Oh. I have noticed I can see, better.'

'**Your sense won't be as good as a demons or as good as a half demons but they'll be better then a humans.'**

I smiled softly. That would be helpful. I perked up suddenly.

'**I think they have stopped for a break. You should wake up. I also think they stopped for a time last night to sleep.'**

I nodded. I opened my eyes to see leaves on the trees swaying in the breeze. Suddenly I saw pink. Sakura smiled down at me.

"Good to see you awake Kagome. Do you feel better?"

"Yes, I do. Thank you."

She nodded and I slowly propped myself up on my elbows. I saw everyone was sitting, eating quickly, or relaxing. I slowly sat up. Kakashi saw and was beside me immediately.

"Kagome." He said.

I looked at him.

"Where is Akago?"

I immediately fell. My eyes got watery with fake tears and my vision started to blur.

"They killed him," I sobbed, "After they caught us."

I covered my face with my hands. Hinata and Sakura shoved Kakashi away and started to try and comfort me. I saw Hinata sniff too. I didn't listen to any of the comforting as I pretended to cry. **'Good acting**.' 'Thanks.' Naraku was chuckling and I made my laughter sound like sobs. I liked acting. It was fun to see how easily others were fooled. After a while Sakura coaxed me up. I pretended to have a hard time swallowing my tears.

They gave me some water and food. Then we once again ran off. This time Hinata stayed beside me with Naruto on my other side. We ran in mostly silence. Naruto and Hinata chatted with me softly trying to cheer me up. I kept my act on, though, but was inwardly laughing at their foolishness. We ran for most of the day. At night when we stopped they organized watches. I drifted off beside Naruto who was cuddled up to Hinata. I saw Sakura cuddled up to the shadow boy too.

.--.

I woke part way through the night. I blinked and looked around. I spotted Neji who was on his watch. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I stood silently and walked to Neji. As I sat down he flinched till he saw it was me.

"You are very quiet." He said.

I nodded.

"So why are you up?" He asked.

"I couldn't sleep. And you looked lonely."

'**Going to play with his heart?' **Naraku asked. 'Maybe a bit. It'll be fun. Besides I want to know how he really feels.' I heard Naraku started to laugh before he rolled over and slept again. It was kind of odd how he slept as much as me at least. Neji was watching me.

"So…." I started.

"Who were the ones who cut you?" He asked suddenly.

I gave him a fake flinch.

"Kisame and Itachi."

"How did you escape?"

"You know about my miko powers?"

He nodded.

"Well they didn't know about them. When I had been unconscious my powers had returned and I gave them a blast that knocked them out pretty well. It weakened me though and the only thing I could do was run."

"Why didn't you kill them?"

I flinched again.

"I wasn't thinking perfectly straight and I hate death. As a miko death is horrible." I whispered.

"You may not be cut out for the life of a ninja then." He said.

"I was thinking about a different career when I get back. I could still be a ninja but maybe work at the hospital instead since I'm a good medic. Or even teach at the academy."

He nodded. Then he started to fidget slightly.

"I was wondering…." He started.

I just watched him and waited.

"I was wondering if you would go out with me."

I blinked. Then I made myself seem embarrassed.

"I would like that." I whispered.

He smiled slightly.

"How about the day we get back we go for dinner?"

I smiled back and nodded. I yawned.

"Excuse me but I think I'm going to fall asleep."

He nodded and I stood. I walked back to my cloak and lay down. 'His heart is in my hand now.' I almost giggled. Broken hearts weren't so bad when it wasn't yours being broken. Then I sighed softly and curled up.

.--.

I woke when everyone else did. We had some quick breakfast then shot into the trees. Neji stayed by me and talked with me softly. I pretended to slowly feel better but when everyone mentioned something I could relate Akago to I would summon fake tears. I had fooled them very well. They were all in the palm of my hands. By dinner we entered the gates of Kohona. The guards greeted us as we shot to the Hokage's tower. We entered to find Tsunade stamping some papers. She saw us and let out a soft smile. She gave me a smile. I sniffed.

"So you got her back." She stated.

"She escaped by surprising them with her miko powers." Kakashi said.

"Where is Akago?"

I burst into tears. Tsunade sighed.

"Kakashi will give me your report, the rest of you are dismissed."

Everyone nodded. Neji walked up to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder leading me from the place. I saw the others blink then smirk. Kakashi grinned but turned to Tsunade. As soon as we left her office everyone split up.

"So is dinner still on?" He asked.

I nodded and gave him a soft smile.

"I'll pick you up in half an hour."

I nodded. He had walked me to the Uchiha compound. Then he shot off and I walked towards Sasuke's house. When I walked in Sasuke gave me a glance then walked off to his room. I had a quick shower then got dressed. I had a few extra minutes so I packed my things; like my weapons, books, clothes, and some of my photos and jewellery. Then I walked back to the entrance. I found Neji waiting. I grabbed his hand in mine and he led me down the street to a restaurant. I followed smiling at him the whole way. We had a long dinner talking the entire time. When we had finished he paid and we walked down the dark and empty streets. When we reached the Uchiha compound He scratched the back of his head.

"Thank you for going out with me. If you're free would you like to go again sometime?" He asked.

"I would like to." I smiled.

"Well I'll talk to you later. Bye."

He bowed his head. I smiled at him.

"You may kiss me if you want."

He blinked then blushed, deep red. He leaned over and planted his lips on mine gently. I kissed him back and he rested a hand on the back of my neck. He nudged my bottom lip and I complied letting his tongue in. When we ran out of air he was red. He bowed his head quickly and walked off. I smirked and tapped my chin. This was more fun then I had thought it would be. I turned and headed for the house.


	13. Ninja Miko Part 3

Itachis POV:

I watched them kiss with emotionless eyes. I saw Kagome smirk like she was having fun playing with him. She turned on her heels and walked towards our old house. I followed in the shadows of the houses. Leader wanted me to keep an eye on her so I would. When she reached the house she headed for her room. I could sense my brother in his room. I had already masked my chakara so I strolled down the halls.

When I reached Kagome's room I walked in. She scowled at me and I saw she had been changing. I ignored her scowl as she turned around. She was already half naked. As she kept her back to me I saw a large spider on her back. I walked up to her and traced it. She stiffened at my touch. The spider almost looked like a tattoo. It was the color of a burn though. The edges were all smooth and I could make out small details.

"Why did you get this spider tattoo?" I asked.

She froze.

"Spider tattoo?" She asked.

Now I frowned. How could she not know about her own tattoo? She walked up to her mirror and looked over her shoulder.

"Oh this. I wondered if I would get it. Though it looks better then his was." She mumbled.

It sounded as if she was talking to herself not me.

"I got this a while back." She said.

I watched her a moment then gave her a curt nod.

"Can we leave tomorrow?" She asked.

"Why?"

"I would like to say goodbye."

Her tone said it wasn't a tearful fare well but something else.

"Meet me at the training grounds in the morning." I said.

She nodded. I looked at the spider once more then swept out of the room.

Kagome's POV:

After Itachi left I looked over the spider tattoo. '**It certainly resembles mine. And it's definitely from me**.' Naraku mulled. 'It looks more refined though; like it was intentional, not a burn.' I said. '**Well when ever I made a reincarnation they always had my spider mark. It would make sense that the body I was in would also have one. It might be more refined because you are another person not another copy.**' I nodded. I pulled on my sleeping kimono. I scowled. 'I knew Itachi had been near but I hadn't expected him to walk in while I was changing.' '**He might be haunted for the rest of his life from that.**' Naraku chuckled. 'Are you saying I'm ugly?' I asked in a dangerous tone. '**No. I'm saying your beauty is unrivalled. He will want more then just a look. Better be careful or they might fall in love with you.**' 'They can love me all they want too, but I doubt I will love any of them back.' '**What was that with the Hyuuga boy earlier? Do you love him?**' 'No. But I might as well do some damage before I leave.' There was silence. I walked to my bed and sat down. I closed my eyes and joined Naraku. He watched me as I sat beside him.

'**You have changed.**' He said suddenly.

I blinked.

'Really?'

'**Yes. You may not have noticed but you have really changed. In three years you went from an innocent, defenceless, pretty child to a strong, cruel, beautiful woman.'**

'Would you really call me that?' I asked.

'**Strong? Yes. Cruel? Maybe. You can be cruel, not as cruel as some but still cruel. Beautiful woman? Without a doubt.'**

'So you think I'm pretty?' I asked in surprise.

He blinked.

'**Yes. You have always been quite beautiful.'**

'Oh.' I said softly.

'**Did someone say you weren't?'**

'Inuyasha always said I was an ordinary wench and I would never find anyone.'

'**He was lying. He most likely said that to discourage you from finding anyone, so that he could kill you without interference when Kikyo needed her soul?'**

'Really?'

'**Through Kanna's mirror I watched Kikyo and him many times. Kikyo got him to swear undying love to her and made him promise to get her, her soul, by killing you. If you had found someone or someone had found you then when Inuyasha had tried to kill you he would have had problems.'**

'No one would have loved me anyways. At least no one, who would have been able to stop him.'

'**Koga liked you and he could have stood up to Inuyasha. And Sesshomaru liked you.'**

'SESSHOMARU?!'

'**Yes. Did you not notice? He never hurt you, even tried to hurt you, or kidnapped you to get at Inuyasha. He even protected you a couple times.'**

'He did that because I saved Rin from a demon once.'

'**No. He liked you. I saw it in his eyes. I was going to use you in the end to get at him. And if you remember when you said goodbye to him, he tried to get you to stay. He also didn't try to force you to do anything and when you said you wouldn't stay he looked little sad.'**

I sat back hard and starred at the black walls for a moment. I would never have suspected. I sat there for a minute. Then I sighed. I opened my eyes and looked around my room. Then I wiggled under my covers and fell asleep.

.--.

I woke up at the same time as I usually did. I yawned and sat up. I sighed and combed my fingers through my hair. I couldn't sense Sasuke anywhere in the compound. I combed my hair and got dressed in my ninja clothes quickly. Then I grabbed some breakfast. I hefted my back pack on. I had shrunk all my books, clothes, and photos with my miko powers. I had learned that spell a while back and it was very handy. I smirked slightly as I slipped form the room and down the deserted halls. I walked into the sun and walked quickly down the streets. Few would be out this early. It was a little after sunrise. I ran quickly down the roads. When I reached the training grounds I sighed as I spotted Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. They stood there. Sasuke looked blank and Sakura and Naruto looked sad.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Waiting for you." Naruto said.

"Sasuke saw your packed bags and we knew you were leaving." Sakura said.

"Why are you leaving? Are you betraying us?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes."

They all winced at my tone.

"You would do that to Kakashi?" Naruto asked.

"My uncle will get over it."

"We'll stop you." Sakura said defiantly.

"Try me." I grinned.

They all took fighting positions. In the blink of an eye I was in front of Sakura. She gasped as my fist hit her gut hard. She coughed up some blood as I heard her ribs crack. She flew in a large arch and landed thirty feet away on the ground. I laughed. Naruto and Sasuke's eyes hardened as they lunged at me. I hit the ground in a crouch. When they were almost on top of me my hands hit the ground and I lashed out with my feet. The two flew off to the side and hit the ground leaving trails as they slid.

"So troublesome."

I turned to grin at the shadow boy who was helping Sakura up. I also saw Hinata helping Naruto, and Neji helping Sasuke. I grinned.

"Ooh! More play things."

They all scowled.

"Kagome-" Neji started.

He didn't get to finish as I was practically in front of him. My kunai entered his gut and he gasped. He stumbled back and I sliced my kunai up his chest.

"It is quite fun to play with a heart." I grinned licking the blood off my knife.

Neji winced. I jumped back as Shikamaru's shadow reached for mine. I saw Hinata lunged at me. I grinned as she tried to hit me. I easily dodged all her attacks.

"Why?" She asked as she attacked.

"Because this is not my kind of place."

I slammed my knife into her arm. She cried out. I stabbed her thigh then dodged the shadow boy. He tried to catch me with his shadow but I was too quick. I dodged Sasuke's fist. I saw the swirl of chakara out of the corner of my eye. I hit the ground as a rasengan was where I had been. I jumped up, my foot connecting with Naruto's jaw. He flew back into a tree, unconscious. I saw Sakura running for Neji and Hinata. I was by her in a flash. Shikamaru also lunged at us. I grabbed Sakura's arm and twisted it. It broke. She screamed as I jerked her in front of me. Shikamaru froze just before his fist hit my new shield.

He gasped and Sakura screamed as I pulled her broken arm harder. When she had blacked out I kicked her to the side. Shikamaru tried to hit me again. I laughed as I nailed him in the stomach with me foot and my knife entered his arm. He gasped as he fell unconscious from the force of my kick. I dodged a round of shuriken as they came at me. Tenten lunged at me a staff in hand. I smiled as I grabbed it before it hit me. I pulled it from her grip and spun. The staff hit her hard across the gut. She gasped and doubled over. I hit her hard on her back and she collapsed. I heard the chirping of birds. I turned to see Sasuke running at me with a chidori. I frowned.

"So Kakashi passed on his secret to another."

I quickly leapt into the air doing some flips. I landed behind Sasuke. He spun quickly. I jumped back but the attack nicked my thigh. I scowled and used my miko powers to heal it in a second. Then I jabbed the staff I still held into Sasuke's ribs. I felt them crack under the pressure. Then I quickly hit the pressure point on his neck. I looked around. The only ones still conscious were Hinata and Neji. But both were bleeding badly. In another half an hour Neji would be dead from blood loss. Hinata tried to stand but hissed as her leg bled more. I grinned. I scowled as I felt the air move signifying an attack aimed at me. I spun my arms up in a block. A foot hit me hard and I was thrown back. I flipped and landed softly. I looked to Lee and Gai. They each held determination in their faces.

"Everyone is out today." I said.

"Ninja rise early." Gai said.

"Well the weak ones do." I smirked.

They both scowled. Then they stepped to the side and ran at me. I waited. Then I swept the staff trying to trip them. They leapt into the air and I smirked. I dropped the staff and did some quick hand signs. I muttered the technique under my breath so they couldn't hear. A large water dragon rose out of the small pond. It gave a silent roar as it swallowed the still air born taijutsu masters. They were pulled in by the swirling water. The dragon dived for the ground hitting it hard and making a water fall of sorts. The two ninja were slammed and compressed into the ground by the water. By the time all that was left was puddles, a huge crater, and the two were unconscious from the pressure. I looked to the new comers to see Ino, a boy with bugs, and a boy with a dog. They all growled. Ino lifted her hands as I ran at them.

"Mind transfer technique!" She yelled.

I quickly dropped and rolled narrowly avoiding the attack. She slumped. I knew she would be out for a couple of minute.

"Akamaru lets go!" Dog boy shouted.

I grinned as the canine and the boy lunged at me. They started to spin and turned into twin cyclones. I dodged as best as I could. But one still hit me in my stomach. I gasped as I flew back. Before I passed out I sent my miko healing powers through me. I was immediately better. I grinned and pulled my foot long knife free. I lunged in as the two landed on the ground. The boy cried out as my knife sliced his arm. He jumped back clutching the bleeding gash. I was lunging in to attack again but had to jump back as a swarm of bugs came at me. I scowled at the bug boy. I disappeared with fast speed to reappear behind the boy. He spun and blocked my one fist but my second one which held my knife entered his stomach. I spun and hit him on the head with the butt of my knife. He dropped like a stone.

I dodged the large dog. Akamaru growled at me. I glanced at the boy who was trying to quickly bandage his arm. I looked back at the growling dog. I let my small fangs show. I growled like a wolf. I had had practice while staying with the wolf clan. The dog froze and almost backed up. I snarled. He jumped back quickly to his master whimpering. The boy looked down at him as he barked.

"A wolf?" He questioned.

He looked up at me and I snarled showing my teeth. Then I lunged in. Akamaru jumped in front of his master. I leapt up and kicked the dog. He yelped and flew back into a tree. I hit the boy hard in his injured arm. He yelped too. Then I slid my knife between his ribs. He froze. He looked down at the knife then at me. His eyes closed and he fell back. I grinned as I pulled my knife free. Then I raised my knife again. I knew I hadn't killed him. I was about to strike when a voice stopped me.

"Kagome stop."

I looked towards the training ground entrance, past the bodies at Kakashi. He stood beside three others. They were the three sand ninja I had heard were coming to Konoha. One had red hair and a gourd; Gaara. One was a girl with blonde hair and a fan; Temari. One was a boy in black clothes with a puppet; Kankuro. They all looked over the fallen ninja. My knife was an inch from the dog boy's throat.

"Please stop Kagome." Kakashi said softly.

I grinned.

"Why, dear uncle? I am having ever so much fun."

"Your niece?" The three asked.

Kakashi ignored them as he took a step forwards.

"What happened to you? You used to hate killing. You used to try to spare every one possible. But here you are attacking friends, and allies."

"A lot has happened to me." I scowled.

"Talk to me then. Tell me what happened."

"I had friends. They ignored me. One planned to betray me. The one I _loved_ planned to betray me. Then they were all slaughtered by a demon."

I saw them all listen closer.

"They were slaughtered. Now I wasn't to upset after a while. I hunted the demon down and sealed it away."

Kakashi nodded. He was still slowly taking steps towards me.

"But we're here for you Kagome. You don't have to worry anymore." Kakashi said.

"I am not worried. I have accepted the fact my friends are dead and I can never see them again; if you would call them friends."

Kakashi was silent a moment.

"Put the knife down Kagome. Calm down."

"But uncle, I am perfectly calm." I said.

He winced slightly. He was about five feet away now. He took another step and my knife came closer to the boy's throat. He froze.

"Take the knife away from Kiba's throat please."

I noticed the red head was gone. I grinned. I saw Kakashi's eyes flicker behind me for half a second. I spun, my knife raised. My knife hit a wall of sand barely a centimetre from the red heads throat. He blinked. My knife didn't break. Totosi had given it to me and I doubted it would break. I saw his sand try to grab me but I quickly jumped farther back. I snarled silently at him. I spun again grinning as Kakashi tried to grab me.

"Don't force me to fight you Kagome."

"Why did you teach our family move to another?" I asked.

He winced.

"I taught him the chidori because he needed a strong move"

"It is the family move. Our family made it and it has been used by our family for generations. Father knew it too. You aren't supposed to teach it to those from other clans." I said coldly.

"I know but I wanted to give it to someone so that it wouldn't be forgotten. I'm sorry I taught it to another before I taught you."

"I already know it." I snapped.

I was a bit annoyed now. Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Father taught me."

"But then you would have had to learn it before ten." He gasped.

"I did. I learned it at nine. They didn't call me a prodigy for nothing." I growled.

"I'm sorry Kagome."

"I don't care."

I looked around. I saw Neji was now unconscious with Hinata. I sighed softly. It wasn't fun anymore. I still wore my bag. I sheathed my knife. Kakashi's face lit up a bit. I pulled out four kunai and launched them. The four dodged them as I did a transportation jutsu. I disappeared in a swirl of blue paper birds.

Itachi's POV:

I watched the battle with calculating eyes. The woman was good, very good. She had beat twelve ninja and only used her miko powers to heal. She had only used one jutsu too. She had said her ninja skills were rusty but they weren't bad. I hadn't recognized many of her moves though as taijutsu. I now knew she was known as a prodigy like me too. I saw her disappear in a flurry of paper birds. I frowned thoughtfully. Most ninja disappeared in a swirl of leaves or flower petals or something from nature. I had only seen one other person vanish in a flurry of paper articles. Kagome reappeared by me with already masked chakara. She grinned at me and looked at the bodies.

"To bad I didn't get to kill any of them." She tsked.

I watched her. I now knew she was the copy ninja's niece. I also knew she had had battles before, and friends, and that she hadn't lived in Konoha all her life. But it did sound as if she had lived here for a couple of years. I also knew she was a bit ticked at the copy ninja for teaching my foolish little brother the chidori which sounded to be a signature move of the Hatakes. I looked the woman over. During the battle she had moved with fluid motion. At first thought she had moved gracefully like a cat but now I saw she moved with the skills of a hunting wolf. The Inuzuka boy had said something about her acting like a wolf to. I saw her grin. As she grinned I saw two small fangs.

"Why do you have fangs?" I asked.

"A secret." She grinned.

Her sapphire eyes were a light with excitement.

"Are we going? They may find us soon."

I nodded. We leapt back farther into the trees and took off running.

Pein's POV:

It had been four days since Itachi and Kagome had left. Everything was the same as always here. Except when ever you saw Tobi you saw the purple haired, purple eyed child in his arms. Tobi seemed to like the boy. The boy seemed to like Tobi too. Zetsu had asked to eat him once but I had told him no. I doubt he could have either. No one else touched the boy. We all vividly remembered what had happened to Kisame. Kisame seemed to have forgiven the boy. Kisame never held a grudge long. But he still didn't touch the boy.

At the moment most of the other members were in the meeting room. We had sensed two people come through the barrier; Itachi and Kagome. Akago actually seemed happy at the moment. Most of the time, the child was emotionless or wore a smirk. He wasn't a normal child that was for sure. Tobi had tried to make him eat but he wouldn't but he didn't even look hungry or weak. He slept like a normal child but that was it. He never cried, laughed, or made much noise for that mater. Tobi wasn't concerned. Neither were we. Everyone was talking while we waited except the few who sat in silence like Konan, Sasori, and I. We knew the two coming would come straight here. We only had to sit for a minute before the door opened. The two walked in and we watched them as they sat in the available seats. Kagome took Akago from Tobi. She smiled down at him. The baby gurgled happily making us stare a moment. Then we shook the thoughts aside and waited.

"Do they know she has betrayed them?" I asked.

"I think that is quite clear to them now." Itachi said.

"Details?" I asked.

"Three found out about her leaving. They foolishly tried to stop her. She knocked thirteen ninja out. Some were very badly wounded. She beat them all with taijutsu alone, except for the taijutsu pair, she used a water jutsu. Then the sand ninja and the copy ninja showed up. She just left them alone and we left."

We all starred at Kagome who seemed unconcerned with us as she smiled down at Akago and talked to him softly.

"So she is strong enough to join?" I asked.

Itachi nodded without hesitation.

"Good. Now, to talk, about sleeping arrangements."

Everyone tensed.

"Actually first I'll tell you she will be a spare member for now. She will accompany some on missions and take the place of members sometimes. And she will be our medic."

They all nodded. Kagome just glanced at me.

"Now Kagome, you will be staying with one of these guys for the time being."

There was dead silence.

"All partner's rooms are connected by an open arch so they learn to at least half live with another. So which set of partners will take her in; Itachi and Kisame, Sasori and Deidara, Hidan and Kakuzu, or Zetsu and Tobi?"

There was more silence.

"We could take her, un." Deidara said.

"We could also." Hidan said quickly.

"Tobi and Zetsu will also take her!" Tobi clapped.

"She might be better with us." Kisame said.

"But Itachi won't want her." Hidan said quickly.

"She might like some people who are relatively intelligent." Sasori said momentarily looking at Hidan.

"Why you-" Hidan started.

"I do not mind if she stays with us." Kakuzu said.

"_Why not us_?" Zetsu's white side whined.

"**Yes, us."** His dark side cackled.

Kagome just rolled her eyes as they all started to argue.

"Why don't you decided this through rock, paper, scissors, or draw a name from a hat." She said to me.

I nodded at the logic. But it was kind of entertaining to watch the members argue. They rarely got this worked up over something. Itachi also sat back and watched with a small smirk. Konan sighed and rested her head in her hands. Kagome, I noticed, watched Konan sometimes. After about fifteen minutes I whistled. Everyone slowly stopped arguing.

"We'll draw straws."

They all blinked then slowly agreed. I had already gotten ready and held up a fist of straws. Hidan, Deidara, Kisame, and Tobi stepped forwards and drew straws.

"We won, un!" Deidara grinned.

Almost everyone else glared at him. I just snorted.

"Okay then it is decided. Kagome will stay with Deidara and Sasori."

"Can Akago stay with Tobi?!" Tobi asked.

I looked at Kagome who blinked. I squinted as I saw Akago's lips move, like he was talking. But that wasn't possible. I shook my head.

"If you want, Tobi." She said.

"Hooray!" He clapped.

"Well the meetings over." I yawned. "Night."

No one answered as I walked off to my room, Konan following.

Itachi's POV:

I watched Kagome briefly. I hadn't told leader she was Kakashi's niece. I hadn't told him much at all actually, about the tattoo, her moves, or the pleading of the copy ninja. I decided they would find out later. Now Kagome handed Akago back to Tobi who skipped out after Zetsu. It was late and most members were heading to their rooms.

I briefly wondered why Kisame had even wanted Kagome to stay with us but I dismissed the thoughts after a second. Kisame followed me as we head for our room. I walked in my door and he walked in his. Our rooms were pretty much one room with half a wall between us. A quarter of the wall on each side cut in half by a large arch. My half was red though while his was blue. I headed for the bathroom we had to share before Kisame could get to it. I yawned before shutting the door and dismissing all thoughts of our new member.

Deidara's POV:

I walked beside Sasori with Kagome a little in front of us. She looked really beautiful. She had long black flowing hair that moved when she did. Her blue eyes were like deep pools of light that could draw you in. Her lips looked soft and had a blood red tinge to them. She was a little shorter then me and filled out in all the right places. She walked gracefully and swayed slightly. She was one of the prettiest women I had ever seen. I noticed Sasori's eyes were also glued to her. I hadn't seen him like a girl before but now that he did I scowled. Why did he have to like the girl I liked too? I thanked who ever had given me the luck of the draw in my head as I dismissed Sasori. When we reached our room we both walked in through my door. Kagome looked around peeking through the arch into Sasori's room too. My half of the room was a light yellow while Sasori's was a light red. Our bathroom was a dark green. Kagome smiled at us and I felt a blush rise to my cheeks. Sasori turned away from the pretty face.

"I'll sleep on the floor." Kagome said suddenly.

I did some quick thinking.

"You can have my bed, un."

"I wouldn't want to invade." She said.

"Its okay, un."

"But-"

"No, I can't make a pretty girl sleep on the floor, un."

She blushed slightly.

"Well if it's not to forward why don't we just share the bed. It is quite big."

I took a deep breath as my blush rose.

"I can sleep on the floor, un."

"But it's your bed. Either you sleep on it or I'll make you."

"But…."

"If you are so worried about me then we can share."

"Okay, un."

She smiled brilliantly.

"Now, can I use your shower?"

I pointed to it and she walked in locking the door behind her. When she was gone I laughed. I looked at Sasori who scowled at me. I grinned.

"I win, un."

"Win? We weren't competing." He snapped.

"But you want her in your bed too, un."

He snorted and walked to his room. I quickly changed into some pyjamas pants. Kagome came out of the bathroom a minute later and I blinked. Sasori who had been watching also blinked. She was wearing an old fashioned sleeping kimono. Those had been replaced by pyjamas ages ago and I wondered where she had even got them. I looked her over and felt a blush rise again. The only thing holding her white kimono closed was a loosely tied obi. She just smiled at me again. I looked away quickly. I saw Sasori scowling even more at me. I shot him a grin.

Kagome yawned. She set her bag down gently by my bed and smiled at me again. I just looked off again and walked to my side of the bed. I rolled under the covers facing away from the woman. I felt the bed shift as she also climbed on. I fought the blush that continued to rise. It was only a double size bed. Not the largest. I could almost feel her beside me. From my side I could see Sasori. He was in his bed. He shot me a glare and rolled over. I grinned as I flicked my light off. It took a while to drift off with her right beside me but I did drift off.

Kagome's POV:

I woke and blinked as I saw yellow. I snorted softly as I recognized Deidara's hair. I was still on the edge of the bed, but he was stretched out silently snoring. I giggled slightly. Then without making a sound I stood. I grabbed my bag and slipped into the bathroom. I tore my sleeping kimono off and pulled one of my fighting kimonos on. It was black with blue dragons swirling up it. The obi was also a plain blue. I let my hair stay loose. I slid my sword into my obi along with my knife and Kagura's fans. When I had taken her fan I had found she had two on her and taken both. I now wore them both. Then I slipped from the bathroom. Deidara was still fast asleep. Sasori was also sleeping in his side of the room. I walked out the door quickly and down that hall. Itachi and I had walked by a kitchen the other day and that's where I headed. As I came up to the kitchen I found Tobi. He was reading a book at the table. I peeked over his shoulder to see some manga.

"Good morning Tobi." I said softly.

He whipped his head to look at me.

"Good morning Kagome. Tobi didn't hear you."

"Where is Akago?"

"Akago is sleeping. He usually sleeps till nine."

I looked at the clock to see it was eight.

"What time does everyone else get up at?" I asked.

"Everyone is usually up by nine. That's why Akago gets up."

"Does everyone eat together?"

"Sometimes. If someone cooks they do, but no one likes to cook but Tobi and Tobi isn't very good so most people just make their own food." He sang.

"Would they eat if I cooked?"

"Yes." He laughed.

"Okay then. I guess I'll cook breakfast."

Tobi nodded and watched as I rummaged through the cupboards. I pulled out everything I would need and rolled up my sleeves. Tobi watched as I started but soon was back to reading his book. By nine o'clock I had finished. I set everything on the table. The first person to walk in was Pein. He yawned and then blinked. He froze and starred at the food. He looked at me and I gave him a blank look. He grinned suddenly.

"Wow. Bacon, eggs, toast, waffles, _and_ pancakes."

I grinned back.

"Well I guess I should call the others."

"I'll go get Akago." Tobi said.

Then Tobi skipped out of the room. Pein grinned and let out a really loud whistle.

"EVERYONE GET YOUR LAZY ASSES IN HERE NOW!"

I heard the scramble of people. With in two minutes eight blinking people stood in the kitchen. Most were tense, ready for an attack. They saw the food and blinked. They looked at a grinning Pein and blinked again. There was silence a minute.

"Breakfast." Pein chuckled.

In the blink of an eye they were all sitting at the table and digging in.

"So who cooked, un? It wasn't Tobi was it? Please say it wasn't Tobi, un!"

"No. It was Kagome." Pein grinned.

"What, un? But she didn't leave our room. Did she, un?" Deidara asked Sasori.

Sasori scowled.

"I didn't hear her leave." He said.

"Well I did. And I'm right here."

Deidara, who I had sat by, choked on some his food in surprise.

"I didn't notice you, un."

"I'm not noticed much." I mumbled.

"So how did you leave our room? We didn't hear anything and you were sleeping with Deidara he would have heard you." Sasori said.

"I'm just quiet."

We noticed the silence in the room and looked up. Everyone was starring at the three of us.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You slept _with_ Deidara?" Kisame asked in disbelief.

"I slept _beside_ Deidara." I said returning to my pancakes.

"Oh." Kisame said.

Everyone quickly started to eat again. Tobi sprang into the room holding an emotionless Akago. I smiled at him. Tobi held him out to me and I grabbed him as he clutched to my shirt. I sat him on my lap and offered him some of my pancake. He gulped it down. I ate a bite and offered him another bite.

"See he does have to eat, un."

I looked up at Deidara.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well he wouldn't eat anything we offered him while he was away so we thought he didn't need to eat, un."

"Of course he needs to eat. Everything needs to eat."

"How did he survive without the food or even liquids while you were away? Anything normal would have died from dehydration. And any one would be exhausted from lack of energy and food but he acted as if he was the same as always." Pein said.

Everyone was listening closely now but still eating.

"Well maybe he's not normal." I said bluntly.

I ignored the questioning looks and continued to eat. After a minute they dropped the subject and started to almost chat. I ate in silence with Akago. When I was finished I slipped from the table only earning a glance from Itachi who had been watching everyone. I stuck my dishes in the sink then walked up behind Deidara. I tapped him on the shoulder. He looked back at me and blinked. Then he looked at where I had been sitting.

"When did you get up, un?"

I rolled my eyes.

"A minute ago. Is there somewhere I can train?"

"Outside, or there is an old dojo down the hall, un."

I nodded and turned around. I walked out the door and walked down the hall. I frowned after a minute. I hadn't found the dojo. I shrugged and just started to explore the halls. After about ten minutes I found the dojo. I walked in and looked around. It was clean but didn't seem to be used often. I set Akago down on a small bench and gave him a kunai. He grinned and started to twirl the knife as he seemed to think. I just shook my head and pulled my knife out.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breathe. Then I stepped gracefully into the first move. I moved through the attacks with fluid movements. I kept my eyes closed too and let my miko powers act as my eyes. Before I hit a wall my miko power would warn me and I could easily change direction. Just as I was finished I heard the whistle in the air. I ducked as the kunai buried itself in the wall behind me. I opened my eyes and raised a brow at Akago who gave me an innocent look.

"Just seeing alert you were." He said.

I nodded. I looked to the door of the dojo as Sasori walked in. He looked at me then blinked at the kunai. He followed its path with his eyes and they rested on Akago who gurgled.

"What…."

I just pulled the kunai from the wall and ignored the puppet man. I walked to Akago and handed him the knife. Akago gave me a giggle as he started to play with the knife. Sasori's eyes widened as he watched Akago play with the knife. Akago smirked at him and the puppet master shook his head. I picked Akago up.

"If you'll excuse us we're going outside." I smiled at the red head.

I bowed me head and swept past him. I headed down the halls to the front door. I smiled as I stepped out into the light and looked for a good place to train.

Sasori's POV:

I watched Kagome's retreating back and scowled. Someone had thrown a kunai and from where she had stood it hadn't been her. And it had seemed to be the child, but the child was a…child. He couldn't have. And why had she given her 'son' a knife to play with?! I waited till Kagome was around the corner before I walked from the room and down the opposite hall. When I reached the door I wanted I knocked. The door opened to reveal Pein. He looked at me.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I have some interesting news."

He looked at me and I glanced around. He opened the door wider and I stepped in. He sat behind his desk and waited for me. I sat in a chair and looked at him.

"It's about Kagome."

He nodded.

"I went to check on her in the dojo. She was standing near the wall still ducking from an attack."

"An attack?"

"Someone threw a kunai at her."

"Did you see who? Was it one of ours?"

"Actually no one was there but Kagome and Akago. I followed the path of the knife and it showed that Akago had thrown it."

"But he's a child."

"He is not a normal child. Kagome gave me a look that read damn-someone-saw, too. And when she removed the kunai from the wall she handed it to Akago to play with."

"She gave her son a knife to play with?"

"Yes. He seemed used to it to. He didn't cut himself and handled it well. He looked like he would drop the thing but when actually holding it he looks like someone skilled with it."

Pein seemed to think a moment.

"Keep an eye on the two."

I nodded and stood. He waved me off and I walked out the door. I headed down the hall and stopped at the end. I wondered where Kagome was. I could sense her any where in the house. I guessed she had to be outside. I just turned and walked for the front door. When I walked outside I looked around. I spotted Kagome at the base of a tree a ways away. She was just sitting there her eyes closed in the position of meditation. Akago sat in front of her the, knife beside him. He was just looking around. When he spotted me his eyes stayed on me. I walked straight for them. I stopped in front of Kagome and stood watching. She didn't even acknowledge me. I just walked to the tree next to her and sat down. Akago watched me a moment then started to play with the knife or plants around him.

Kagome's POV:

I felt as Sasori walked up and sat by the tree next to us. I guessed he was going to be watching us closely for the next little while. I ignored him though. At the moment I was in my mind training with Naraku. It was easier and away from prying eyes. I trained with Naraku for hours. Till past lunch and right till about four. Sasori sat close by the entire time. When Naraku and I had decided to quit training, we both sat on a couch. I sat beside Naraku and leaned against him. I sighed.

'**So it seems that Sasori is already suspicious of Akago. How much longer do you think Akago will keep the act up?**' Naraku asked.

'I am betting Akago will shed the act any day now. He seems to get bored of just having me to visit with.'

'**I agree. How do you think they will handle it?'**

'Well they will be shocked but I'm sure they'll get used to it.'

He nodded and then I felt his hands wrap around my waist. I squeaked as he swiftly pulled me back onto his lap. He made me look up at his face and grinned.

'**And how long do you think I will remain a secret?'**

'Now that I can't tell.'

'**Well maybe I should remain a secret. It's nice to have some good secrets.'**

I grinned.

'Are you a _good_ secret?'

'**Yes**.'

'And how are you good?'

'**I'm good because I'm your own personal trainer.'**

'So all you're good for is training?'

'**Well I am good at other things….'**

I laughed softly.

'At least you're a handsome secret.'

'**And at least you are a beautiful woman to be sealed in. Sometimes I'm glad I'm sealed in you.'**

'And I'm glad you are sealed in me.'

I scowled thoughtfully a minute.

'Do you really mean I'm pretty? Neji also said I was.'

'**Of course I mean it. Why?'**

'Well Inuyasha always told me I wasn't and none of the others got after him or told me different.'

'**Well you must ignore those memories because you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.**' He said seriously.

'And you are the biggest suck up.' I grinned.

He didn't laugh though. He just looked down at me with his cunning red eyes. I started to get unnerved by his stare and fidgeted. I sat up and stood. His eyes followed me.

'**I mean it though. You are beautiful. Any man would jump at the chance of having you.' **

'Some may. But I doubt I will ever find a man love with all my heart.' I sighed.

'**I think you will. Some day you will.'**

I nodded softly and sighed again.

'But you won't ever find a woman for you.' I said quietly.

I felt a bit sorry for him.

'**Yes I have.'**

I blinked and looked at him.

'**I have found a woman I desire. Love, I'm not sure, but I do desire her.'**

I blinked again.

'Who?'

He looked up at me with soft eyes and there was dead silence.

'You can't mean me.' I stuttered.

'**Yes. I do.'**

'But we were enemies.'

'**Long ago, yes.'**

'But-but….'

'**What is wrong with it?'**

'Nothing, but you can't like _me_. Out of all the women you have seen you choose me?'

'**Yes Kagome I chose you, I desire you.'**

'This is a joke?'

'**No.'**

'You don't love me but you desire me?'

'**I am not sure that I love you, I do not know what love is, but I do desire you.' **

I looked away and thought a moment. I felt a hand grasp my wrist.

'**Kagome….'**

I turned back to Naraku and he tugged on my wrist. I stumbled and pitched forwards. I fell on him and he helped me fall making my lips meet his as I fell against him. His one arm wrapped around my waist pulling me closer and holding me while his one hand rested on the back of my neck deepening our kiss. I gasped and he slipped his tongue into my mouth. I moaned as pleasure raced through me and as our tongues met. I leaned in closer resting both palms on his chest. Then I realized I was kissing him back. My eyes flew open as I pushed away from him. Then I opened my real eyes.

When I opened my eyes I blinked against the light and stood. I could feel Naraku in me silently contemplating the kiss. I picked a happy Akago up and looked at Sasori who also stood.

"What were you doing?" He asked.

"Meditating." I said quickly.

He blinked and I rushed into the base. I was a bit shaken by the kiss. Naraku didn't say anything and I pushed him from my thoughts. I rounded a corner and almost ran into Tobi.

"Hello Kagome!"

"Hello Tobi."

"Can I play with Akago?"

"Yes."

I handed Akago over to him. Akago watched me closely and seemed to be a bit startled by my mood. I darted past Tobi. I almost ran into Deidara around the next corner. He grinned at me.

"Do you mind if I sit in your room for a while?" I asked.

"Go ahead, un."

"Thanks."

I walked slower now and walked into his room. I shut the door behind myself and walked softly over to Deidara's desk chair. I sat down and thought a moment. I had got over my surprise. I scowled thoughtfully. I had really liked the kiss even if it had only happened in my mind and I hadn't physically kissed him. I closed my eyes again. I found Naraku sitting on his couch as if waiting. He smiled at me. I felt skittish suddenly. I slowly walked to the couch and sat down.

'About the kiss….' I started.

'**Like it?'**

'Very much.' I mumbled. 'When Neji kissed me it wasn't nearly that good.'

'**I do desire you Kagome I'm not toying with you.'** He said seriously.

'Even if you are toying with me the kiss was so good I wouldn't care.'

He grinned.

'**May I kiss you again?'**

'I don't think you need to ask.' I replied.

He leaned over planting his lips hungrily on mine. It was delicious. We shared the kiss till we needed 'air'. We broke and I sighed happily. He grinned. I leaned against him and he pulled me onto his lap again. He looked down at my face as I faced him. He brought his hand up and traced my lips with his thumb. He kissed me again in a flash. I gasped. When we finished this kiss I laid back turning away from him. He proceeded to stroke my hair.

'**Kagome I think we should keep this between us. You should find someone you love.'**

'Won't you be jealous?' I teased.

'**Most undoubtedly but you need someone who will actually be able to kiss you. You experience it here but it doesn't happen.'**

I nodded.

'**You need someone who can look after you and will treat you right, love you. I desire you but I do not love you.'**

I nodded again. Then I opened my eye sand looked around the room. I decided I should make dinner. I walked slowly from the room lost in thought. As I neared the kitchen I met Pein.

"Going to cook?" He asked grinning.

I nodded.

"Where is Akago?" He asked.

"Tobi." I replied offhandedly.

He nodded and walked off towards his office. I entered the kitchen I saw Itachi sitting at the table reading a book. He glanced at me but I just walked to the cupboards. I thought over Naraku's words and the kiss while I mixed and baked. As dinner was almost finished I felt someone right beside me. I turned and looked at Itachi who was right beside me. I saw his mangekyou was activated. He looked down at me.

"I want to test you." He said.

I blinked and his eyes started to swirl. I gasped as I was pulled into the black and red world of the sharingan. I cursed. I had read some rare books on the sharingan and I knew we were in this world so he could torture me for three days. I appeared in front of him, not bound by anything. He seemed to be studying me.

"Nice." I said looking around.

"Thanks." He smirked. 'But flattery won't get you anywhere."

"I'm quite aware of that." I muttered.

A cross shot up behind me and I was chained to it. Before I could even gasp it had let me go. I blinked and Itachi scowled.

"Why let me go?" I asked.

'**I let you go.'**

We both looked at the speaker. It happened to be Naraku. I grinned. Itachi scowled.

"Who or what are you? You have to be in this woman to come in here and you can't just be a split personality." Itachi said.

'**My name is Naraku. I'm a half demon sealed in Kagome.'** He chuckled.

Itachi's POV:

I looked at the half demon. He looked quite human to be a demon. He was chuckling. He wore a purple and black Yukata, had black long wavy hair, and red eyes. Kagome looked relaxed with him.

"You have a demon sealed in you?" I asked.

Kagome nodded.

"Who sealed him in you?" I asked.

"I sealed him in myself."

"I didn't know that possible."

"Well I didn't either till I tried." She mumbled.

"And half demon? You are part human, part demon?" I asked.

'**Yes. I was once a human but I fed my body to demons in order to gain power.'** The man chuckled.

I thought quickly. He could use this world as well as I could since we were on the same plane. I stepped back as Kagome skipped, literally skipped to him. I almost gaped. She hadn't struck me as a cheerful sort of person.

"See isn't this place nice Naraku? It has color; unlike your dusty black room in my mind."

"You can speak to him in your mind?" I asked.

"I can. I can even interact with him. He trains me and such."

I nodded curtly. She was quite interesting.

'**Too much red. I like black. I don't mind deep purple though.'** Naraku mumbled.

"Yeah well you also are a stuffy old man." Kagome said.

'**I'm not old. I'm only seventy six.'** He muttered.

'That's old.' I thought in amusement. Suddenly Kagome skipped to the back of him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She hung off of him while resting her shin on his shoulder.

"So are you going to tie me up or torture me?"

"Nh."

"Would you let him Naraku?"

'**Maybe. You could use a good torture.'**

"You're mean." She pouted.

My eyes widened. Here was a side of Kagome I had not yet seen. She more seemed innocent.

'**You know I don't like you hanging off of me like that.'** Naraku said.

Kagome spun around to his front and hung her arms around his neck again. She put her face close to his.

"This better?" She asked.

'**Much.' **

My eyes widened as his one arm wrapped around her waist and dipped her. Then he kissed her making my mouth open slightly. She was making out with the demon inside of her. They broke the kiss and he set her back on her feet. She looked at me.

"He's a very good kisser. Want to try him?"

Naraku growled at her and I glared before letting the red and black world melt around us. When we once again stood in the kitchen I looked down at her. She grinned.

"So you are having a relationship with the demon sealed in you."

"Yes. All I have to do is close my eyes and I can go into my mind and interact with him."

She grinned.

"What was with the skipping?" I asked.

"Well I am naturally a cheerful person. It took a lot of practice to learn to stuff all my cheerful happy feelings under a cold mask."

I nodded. She sighed.

"But it is so much work to stifle my emotions."

Then she laughed. She got a smile as she started to hum. I took a step away from her. Suddenly she laughed evilly and started to do stuff with more force. I scowled. She shot me a grin.

"Naraku says I have officially gone insane"

I snorted softly. I sat back on the table and watched. Kagome seemed to have shed the cold act. She acted a lot like Tobi but more intelligently. Tobi skipped in suddenly. Both he and Akago starred at Kagome a moment.

"Kagome you are humming." Tobi said.

"I know." She laughed giving him a smile.

That smile could even affect me. It was warm and… fuzzy. Tobi laughed to and skipped up to her. They started to talk about birds but soon skipped to another subject in the blink of an eye. It was amusing to listen to. When Kagome had finished cooking she set everything on the table. She spotted me and gave me a grin. I squinted as she grabbed Akago and skipped to me.

"Visit with him. He needs some intelligent company."

I blinked. Then Tobi whispered something in her ear. They burst out laughing. They clasped hands and kept laughing while trying to talk. At that moment Pein, Konan, Sasori, Zetsu, Deidara, Kakuzu, Kisame, and Hidan walked in. They all stood gaping as Kagome and Tobi laughed and grinned at one another still having clasped hands and facing one another.

"Is she usually like this?" I asked the infant.

He nodded.

"OH MY FUCKING GOD! THEY HAVE ALL GONE FUCKING INSANE! ITACHI IS FUCKING TALKING TO AN INFANT AND KAGOME HAS BECOME ANOTHER FUCKING TOBI!" Hidan yelled.

Kagome and Tobi stopped laughing and looked at the group who were mostly starring with wide eyes, and slack jaws. The two starred at the group a moment then burst out laughing while leaning on one another. The people slowly snapped their mouths shut and sat at the table. Tobi and Kagome finally got under control.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" Kagome asked cheerfully.

They starred at her a moment.

"Don't worry, she is usually like this. She was just acting cold because she didn't trust you."

My eyes widened as my head dropped. Everyone almost got whiplash as we all focused on Akago. Kagome didn't look fazed though.

"Akago would you like anything?" Kagome asked.

"Can I have some water mom?"

"Sure dear."

Everyone still starred at the child and my grip on him loosened. He grabbed my shirt and I tensed. I remembered what had happened to Kisame. He smirked. Kagome walked up to me and picked Akago up. She gave him some water in a glass. She sat him up on the counter.

"I was wondering if you could tell me; is Naraku usually like a normal person." Kagome said.

"Hmmm sometimes… Wait I've been meaning to ask you if you can talk to him." Akago said.

Kagome sighed.

"Yes I can. When I meditate I train with him. I can even interact with him."

She blushed faintly. Akago scowled.

"I never expected you to get along with him."

"Well I do."

There was silence.

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL?!"

Hidan started cursing with some words I hadn't heard before. We all starred at him till he ran out of breathe, and silenced panting

"I believe Hidan is trying to ask; how can he talk?" Pein asked pointing to Akago.

Akago rolled his eyes.

"I'm a demon."

Everyone blinked.

"But you aren't one of the tailed beasts."

"Would you like to know about us?" Kagome interrupted.

Everyone quickly nodded.

"Do any of you know of the old well by Konoha?"

Konan and I nodded.

"Well I fell down it."

We blinked.

"I was transported to another dimension; to a feudal era. The lands there were infested by demons. I was pulled through because I am the Shikon No Miko; the guardian of the jewel of four souls. It was my duty to protect the jewel. Well one thing led to another and I accidentally shattered it. I spent four years in the past collecting the shards and trying to kill the demon named Naraku."

She took a breath and I blinked at the name Naraku.

"I traveled with a group of people; a hanyou named Inuyasha, a cursed monk named Miroku, a demon slayer named Sango, A kitsune named Shippo, a neko named Kirara, and later the former Shikon No Miko, Kikyo. We traveled for two years gathering the shards and hunting down the demon Naraku who had caused everyone but me harm. Naraku was near invincible though. First he had three good guards, a wind sorceress Kagura, Kanna of the Mirror, a slayer puppet Kohaku. Then he had a boy named Hakudoushi and Akago. Hakudoushi and Akago had been one but had split in two. Hakudoushi became a warrior and Akago became a container for Naraku's heart. Without his heart in his body Naraku was immortal. Then one day our group ran into him and his 'team'. They killed all the others in my group. I escaped, barely. I trained for years. Then I attacked Naraku. I killed his guards, made Hakudoushi and Akago one again, helped Akago become a normal child and sealed Naraku away. Then I jumped back through the well and showed up in Konoha."

There was dead silence.

"A different dimension with demons." Pein mulled.

"What did you seal the demon Naraku in?" Sasori asked.

"Well Naraku was a half demon but a very strong one, and I sealed him inside myself."

Everyone blinked.

"She isn't lying."

Everyone looked at me.

"I sucked her in with my mangekyou and met this Naraku."

They blinked again and slowly nodded.

"Could we go to this dimension?" Pein asked.

"Why?" Kagome asked.

"Curiosity." Pein said.

"I could open the portal." Kagome said slowly.

"We will go then. A whole new adventure."

Pein's eye sparkled with excitement. Kagome nodded curtly.

"So we will go back?" Akago asked.

"Yes. I guess so."

"What will we do?" Sasori asked.

"I do want to visit someone." Kagome said.

"I just want to see if it's true." Pein said.

"**Will we all go**?" Zetsu asked darkly.

"Only if you want."

"I'll go." Deidara, Tobi, Hidan, Konan, and Sasori said.

"_Not us."_ Zetsu said.

"I'd rather not." Kakuzu said.

"I will go." I said.

"Then Kakuzu and Zetsu will stay and the rest of us will go." Pein said.

"The well is inside the tree of Konoha." Kagome said.

We all nodded.

"We will leave tomorrow." Pein said.

Everyone nodded and continued to eat the momentarily forgotten food.

"What about the copy nin?" I asked Kagome. "He will be looking for you."

"What does he have against her?" Pein asked.

"She is his niece."

There were some stares. Suddenly there was loud gasp and the clatter of a falling chair. We all gaped at Konan. She was sitting on the floor where she had fallen gaping at Kagome. None of us had ever seen her show so much emotion.

"What is it Saya?" Kagome asked.

Now we all gaped at her.

"You know her first name?" Pein asked in disbelief. "I thought I was the only one who knew."

"Her first name is Saya?" Sasori asked.

"Yes." Pein said.

We all stored this in memory. None of us had ever learned her first name before.

"Kage?" Konan asked softly.

Everyone blinked as she looked at Kagome.

"Um…that's Kagome, Konan." Pein said slowly.

Konan ignored him as she stood. She suddenly let out a sob as she covered her face. We all sat our jaws almost on the floor. (Okay maybe Itachi's mouth was just slightly open) She had never cried. I had seen her get a hole through her stomach and not cry but she had broken down after hearing Kagome say her first name. Pein stood up to comfort her but Kagome raced forwards and wrapped her arms around Konan. Konan shocked us by throwing her arms around Kagome in return and squeezing her to death.

"I thought you had died with Takashi." Konan whispered. "I missed you."

She had gotten control of the sobs and small tears.

"You used to know Kagome?" Sasori asked.

"Yes, she used to know me." Kagome said. "I missed you too mother."

There was dead silence. You could have heard a bug land ten feet away.

"Mother?" Tobi asked quietly.

"Konan is your mother, un?!" Deidara gaped.

"I knew she had had a husband and a daughter but we heard Takashi Hatake her husband had died and that his daughter hadn't been seen ever again." Pein muttered,

"I fell through the well." Kagome whispered.

"My Kage." Konan whispered still hugging Kagome.

We sat watching the reunion in silence. Finally Konan let go of Kagome and she just smiled at her daughter. Hidan startled us all by launching into a long string of colourful words very loudly. When he ran out of words he just huffed.

"Konan has a daughter, we're going to a fucking different dimension, the bloody infant can talk, Kagome has a fucking demon in her, and Kagome turns into a fucking Tobi. It's to Fucking much." He scowled.

We all agreed silently with him. Kagome just laughed.


	14. Black Inu Part 1 : Crossover

Kagome's POV:

I sighed as I walked on through the trees. My name is Kagome Higurashi and I was currently looking for a certain group of travellers. I was eighteen and eleven months old and I was quite strong emotionally and physically. I was in the feudal era at the moment. I looked around. I had been here for the past four years trying to find the jewel shards and kill a demon named Naraku. I was alone at the moment. I used to travel with a hanyou named Inuyasha, a Kitsune named Shippo, a youkai exterminator named Sango, a monk named Miroku, and a fire neko named Kirara.

But that had been two years ago when I was seventeen. I got a scowl on my face as I remembered them. We used to be a happy bunch of companions. But then Kikyo had joined our group. She was my undead incarnate who loved Inuyasha. He loved her too even though I had told him I loved him. He had thrown me, a living healthy girl, aside, for an un-dead clay pot. Well she had joined our group. Inuyasha had let her along with the others. Two years ago I had lost my miko powers for a short time. I hadn't known why, they had just vanished with my ability to sense the shard.

Magically Kikyo appeared the same day and offered her assistance. Inuyasha had agreed right away. The others had waited until I had to agree. I had been slowly them down and was useless so I had been a bit down and let Kikyo join. It had been a mistake. She had been mean to me every time the others looked away. I couldn't complain either because Kikyo acted like an angel in front of them and had started to grow on them. They still liked me of course, except Inuyasha who had grown distant. I soon lost my love for Inuyasha and I hated Kikyo.

Well one day when Miroku, Kirara, Inuyasha, Shippo, and Sango had been battling a demon I had been separated. Kikyo had found me. She had snickered and then pushed me off a cliff. I was lucky and landed in a river. I had been pulled down stream about twenty kilometres at least. I don't know how I had survived but I had. I had finally dragged myself from the water. I had broken arm, three broken ribs, a badly sprained ankle and a sprained wrist. I had also got numerous bruises and cuts. I had been luckily not to have been damaged more though.

And I had been lucky a second time and washed up near a village. The village miko found me trying to bandage myself with strips of my miko outfit, which I had been wearing at the time. I had stopped wearing my school uniform long ago. She had helped me and taken me back to the village. I had explained that I had fallen in the river when a demon attacked. She had accepted the story. I had also told her that my powers had vanished. She had examined me with her miko powers and told me another miko had put a barrier around my own powers blocking me from them.

I had known what miko had done that. Well she told me that only a miko stronger then my self could do that. Luckily this miko, Mikoto, had strong powers and broke the barrier. Then she had, after I had begged for a while, agreed to teach me to control my powers. I knew that Kikyo would come up with a story for my group about how I had fought bravely then she had tried to save me but a demon had killed me and thrown me off the cliff. I decided to make use of my time. Well she had healed my injuries and agreed to teach me. Once I had learned to control my powers to a certain extent I learned very quickly. With in four months I had mastered my miko powers and the bow.

I had thanked Mikoto and left. I was going to leave when Koga had appeared. He had told me that he was going to mate with Ayame and that he wanted me to be his sister. I had agreed immediately. We had sliced our arms and then let the blood from our wounds mix and drip into a bowl. We had each drank half the blood and then Koga had stood. He had told me I may get some abilities of a wolf demon but he wasn't sure. I had thanked him and he had ran off. I had planned to go find my group after that but it seemed fate had a different plan in store. I had traveled for days without any word of them. Then something surprising had happened.

.—

I walked through the forest quietly. My bow and quiver were swung over my shoulder. I was silent as I walked. I could sense demons in the area. I didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to myself by making noise. I had already masked my miko powers and scent. I walked swiftly. Suddenly I sensed a human presence among some demons. I stopped dead in my tracks. The demons also were giving off blood lust auroras and they were close. I shot off at top speed. I ran as fast as I could. The first scream rang out two seconds later. I quickened my pace.

Suddenly I burst into a large clearing. A girl was running towards me. She looked no older then twelve. She had dark brown almost black hair and deep brown eyes. She wore an orange and white kimono and I noticed a small green demon on her back and a staff in her hand. I saw blood dripping from the demon. Then the enemy demon burst from the trees. It was a giant cougar demon. I wondered briefly why the human girl was trying to save the demon when if she dropped him she would have a better chance of escaping. The girl saw me and gaped. Her eyes held terror and she stopped. She looked from me to the advancing cougar demon, wondering which, was more of a threat. I pulled my bow free and knocked an arrow. The girl's eyes widened.

"Duck." I yelled.

She immediately hit the ground. I let my arrow fly. It illuminated with a pink glow. It hit the demon square in the chest. It roared before it was purified to dust. The girl lifted her head and opened her mouth. I just pulled another arrow free from my quiver and shot it into the trees. Another cougar demon fell from the branches and was purified. Then I walked to the girl. She looked up at me and slowly sat up.

"Thank you."

I looked at the demon on her back. It was familiar.

"Let me heal your friend."

She nodded and slowly let the unconscious demon slide from her back. I rested a hand on its chest were large claw marks were. I slowly let me miko powers heal it. It was hard not to purify the demon but I did heal the wounds. When I was finished I stood back up and looked at the girl.

"Where is your village?" I asked.

"I do not belong to a village."

I blinked.

"Are you an orphan?"

"Yes I was until I found them."

She pointed to the demon. I wondered if they had companions.

"Are there others?"

"Yes. Lord Sesshomaru and A-un are gone right now though."

I immediately stiffened. This girl was Rin and the imp was Jaken, I had forgotten. I was completely alert now. We stood a moment in silence, before an angry demon lord burst from the trees. His eyes were red and he was growling. He looked at me, the sitting girl, and the unconscious Jaken. His claws started to glow from his poison. Then the two headed dragon also burst from the trees. It was growling but not as loudly as Sesshomaru. I slowly backed away from him and the Rin. I slowly set my bow on the ground to show I wasn't going to attack. Sesshomaru calmed a little but I saw him move to strike. My miko powers were already to defend me if he did attack but it was still frightening to have a demon lord with red eyes and bloodlust radiating off him getting ready to attack.

Suddenly Rin jumped up and ran to him. As her arms wrapped around his waist and I panicked. I started forwards worried he would kill her. Then I saw his eyes return to normal and the poison disappear. I blinked. He had been stopped by a human child. He had also completely freaked out when he thought I had harmed her. Then he suddenly looked at me. He studied me a moment. He saw my two arrows in piles of ashes. He looked at the blood covered Jaken but didn't see any wounds. Then he looked to Rin.

"What happened?" he asked quietly.

I blinked. I could swear his voice held compassion for a second. I must be going mad I told myself.

"We were picking flowers when a demon jumped at us. Jaken tried to fight it but got a big cut. I grabbed him and ran. Then I met this lady. She killed two demons with a pink glowy arrow and then healed Jaken." Rin said in almost one breath.

Sesshomaru looked up at me.

"You are my brother's wench."

I sniffed.

"No am not. To them I am dead. And my name is Kagome. Ka…Go…Me." I said.

He blinked.

"What do you mean dead?"

"Kikyo pushed me off a cliff and most likely told them I had died in battle."

I could swear I saw a smirk on his face. I scowled at him. He raised an eyebrow. Then I got a great idea… or a not so great idea but hey! I was going to do it. I smiled politely at Sesshomaru. He immediately scowled and got suspicious.

"_Lord_ Sesshomaru…" I started.

I said the lord part mockingly though which made his scowl deepen.

"Would you train me?" I asked.

He blinked and seemed slightly taken back.

"In what?" He asked after a moment.

"In fighting. I can already use the bow but I know nothing else."

He looked at me a moment.

"Please do Sesshomaru! Then Rin will also have someone to play with." Rin cheered.

Sesshomaru looked at her.

"For saving both Rin and Jaken I will teach you. But you must also act as her mother during the time and teach her the way of mortal women." He said.

I looked at him. That was the most I had heard him ever say at once.

"Deal." I said.

He smirked again and lifted Rin up. He set her on his dragon and motioned for me to get on too. I grabbed Jaken and jumped on with him. We then took off quickly into the sky.

. OF FLASHBACK.--.

For a year and a half I had stayed at Sesshomaru's castle. It had been a nice experience. I had learned hand to hand combat, how to use a sword, how to use a spear and staff, and how to use almost any other blade. I had also learned how to track almost anything, hunt better, make traps, and other such skills. I had visited the generals of Sesshomaru's army a lot too and learned how to plan a battle, about tactics, and about strategies. I also learned how to run an army , how to read a map perfectly, how to draw a map, how to ride on horses, and how to win in a fist fight or knife fight when there were no rules and it was one on one with a thug or low life.

Also during that time I had acted as a mom to Rin. I taught her all about the human ways since I was the only other human in Sesshomaru's castle. Jaken was always neutral with me, treating me with respect for saving him but still hating the human in me. A-un and I got along great and I also got along with everyone else in the castle, at least all those I met. His castle was freaking huge! I had stayed for more then a year and still hadn't seen every room! I had been busy though.

And guess what! Sesshomaru and I grew on one another and we actually got along! Amazing huh? I had thought Sesshomaru would be as cold as always and had agreed to teach me grudgingly but he wasn't really that cold just more blank. He could be cold though. But during my stay we became friends. I could read a blank face like an open book after that. I even healed his arm for him! Don't ask me how, all I did was think of an arm and use my miko powers. Well as he trained me we got close and he warmed up to me. I learned a lot about him and just after a year and a half had passed since I had been at the castle with him he asked me if I wanted him to adopt me as his sister. I had agreed with tears of course and had hugged him over and over, not in front of anyone though, he still had an image. I smiled at that memory.

..--.

I tried to sit patiently. I sat on a small cushion and looked around. I was in a large room. It was all wood and there was candles mounted on the wall. They were the only light in the room. This room was often used for rituals and healings and such. It hadn't been used in a while though. In front of me was a small bowl. Another cushion was across from me. It was for Sesshomaru. One thing I didn't like was a knife beside the bowl. It had power. Sesshomaru said it had been used in this same ritual in the past when his father had adopted a woman as his sister also and when his great grandparents had used it. I shivered.

I was wearing a pure white kimono and my hair was down. I was trying to wait patiently but patience was one thing I hadn't had in a long time. Suddenly the door slid open. Sesshomaru walked in. He was also in a pure white outfit. He didn't even have his fluffy tail. I looked up at him. He glanced down at me and sat without saying a word. Then he picked up the knife. He had explained the ceremony to me so I knew what I had to do and what I had to expect. I found out it was similar to what Koga and I had done but we had done the quick version where he had just adopted me and we weren't brother and sister in blood. This version would make me his sister in blood and I would also be related to those to Sesshomaru, like Inuyasha.

"Hold out your hands." He said.

I did so. He held them as he used the knife to make two large cuts in each of my palms. I had to hold my miko powers back so I didn't heal myself automatically. Then Sesshomaru gave me the knife. I tried to grasp it tightly but it was hard with the cuts. He held out his hands and I cut them. He didn't even move. Then I set the knife down. He clasped my hands in his so each of our palms was touching. We held them over the bowl as our blood mixed and dripped to the bowl. Then when the blood finally stopped Sesshomaru grabbed the knife again. He sliced up each of my arms. I winced then did the same for him. We did the same thing and held our arms together letting the blood fall to the bowl.

When the bleeding finally slowed again Sesshomaru picked up the knife a third time, but instead of cutting me he dipped it in the bowl of blood and stirred. Then he let the knife go and dipped to fingers in the blood. I mimicked him. He lifted his fingers to my face and rubbed a design on my cheeks and forehead. I did the same to him. Then we both drew designs of blood on our arms and the bottom of our legs and feet. Then we did the same thing to our stomachs, backs, and over our heart. That had meant taking off the top of our clothes. I had been embarrassed but lived through it. Then when that was finished he lifted the bowl to me. I grabbed it with trembling hands and lifted it to my lips. I clenched my eyes as I drank the mixed blood. When I had drank half I handed the bowl to Sesshomaru. He drank the last of the blood. Then he set the bowl down.

"We have mixed our blood." He said.

"We wish to be bonded together." I said.

"I am night."

"And I am day."

"We are different."

"But wish to be the same."

"We wish to share blood."

Suddenly a red light surrounded us. The blood designs sank into our skin and a wave of pain washed over me. I doubled over gasping. I saw Sesshomaru do the same. Suddenly my sight increased my hearing increased and my sense of smell, touch, and taste also increased. I felt lighter but stronger. I also felt more graceful. I saw Sesshomaru sit up as the light vanished and the blood and any trace of it also. I also sat up straighter. Sesshomaru looked at me and froze. I blinked.

"What?" I asked.

He just sat looking at me. I scowled.

"You're a half demon." He finally said.

"What?" I asked. "What do I look like?" I asked.

"Your hair is black and goes down to your waist, you have claws and small fangs, and your eyes are blue with gold flecks. Also you have black dog ears."

I squealed in excitement and rubbed my ears. Then I scowled.

"But why am I a half demon?"

"I can explain."

We both looked to the small flea jumping towards us.

"Did you watch the whole ceremony?" I asked Myoga.

"Yes. And I'm quite surprised that Sesshomaru adopted a human."

"Explain." Was all Sesshomaru said.

"Oh yes. Kagome is half a demon because when you mixed blood your demon blood took over her human blood. Normally she would have become full demon but she has part of Kikyo's soul in her."

We both blinked.

"Wait I thought that she had part of my soul. Didn't she get part of my soul when she was brought back to life?" I asked.

"No." Myoga said. "I have been travelling and asking questions a lot lately and found out that you are not Kikyo's reincarnation. You are Midoriko's reincarnation. Kikyo is just very similar to you, like a doppelganger. When you thought your soul was being taken so Kikyo could live they were actually using you as a medium to summon Kikyo's soul since your souls were so similar. But you were interrupted and half of Kikyo's soul got stuck in you."

"So I have my soul and half of Kikyo's soul in me?" I asked.

"Yes. You would be a full demon but along with being a demon you kind of get a second soul. It's like your inner youkai. Its part of you that takes over when you transform. Like Sesshomaru's large inu form is his second soul. But since you have half a second soul already in you there is no room for the rest of the demon part of you."

"So I have to give Kikyo half her soul back before I become a full demon?" I asked.

Myoga nodded.

"I also have the suspicion that the part of Kikyo's soul you have in you is the pure part of her. Right now she only has the evil half of her soul."

I nodded at the logic. It would sure seem that way.

"Well I better go return her soul then." I grinned.

"Do you have any idea how you are going to do that?" Sesshomaru asked.

I shook my head with a grin.

"We'll climb that hill when we get there." I said

"What hill?" Myoga and Sesshomaru asked.

I sighed.

"It's a figure of speech."

They looked at me then shrugged.

"Well I think I'll leave as soon as possible." I said standing.

The two nodded.

"Oh and Kagome, I talked to Inuyasha and them. They miss you. Sango, Miroku, Kirara, and Shippo still think you are alive and believe Kikyo had something to do with your disappearance. Inuyasha even misses you."

I felt tears well in my eyes. They still loved me and missed me. I had thought they would forget about me. I had thought they would forget me. What he had said had lifted a large weight off my shoulders.

"Thank you Myoga." I said before leaving.

. OF FLASHBACK—

I sighed. I had been searching for a little over a month now. Well I guess I hadn't 'searched' a whole month. I had gone back and visited Mikoto and I had travelled a bit around the West visiting the scouts I knew well. But I had gone to search for the group after a while. Now I knew I was getting close because I had heard rumours of their group and I had found an old camp sight of theirs. I knew I was less then a day behind them.

I sighed again and picked up a run. I ran for a little under three hours when I smelled the group ahead of me. I had already masked my scent and powers with my miko powers which I had somehow kept. I guessed the reason for that was because the powers of the Shikon No Tama Miko were in my blood and soul and wouldn't disappear that easy. Surprisingly I didn't try to purify myself either. It seemed my demon blood and miko powers were neutral with each other. I didn't complain, though, it made things easier for me. I sniffed again. I was getting close.

I shot off into the trees beside me. I had been on the path beside the trees and beside the field but I didn't want to be seen. I ran up beside the group dodging between trees. I saw that Kirara was on Sango's shoulder, Shippo was on Miroku's shoulder and Sango and Miroku were talking softly while walking beside one another. They were even holding hands. I smiled. It seemed their relation ship had grown. Next I looked to Inuyasha and Kikyo. They were a little behind the others. They were silent too. Inuyasha looked at his friends with longing while Kikyo scowled at them.

I saw Miroku point to a small stream coming up. They all smiled but Kikyo. When they reached the stream they stopped. They all pulled some cold meat from a pack Sango had on. It was my yellow pack. I held back tears. At Sesshomaru's he had taught me to hold back emotions so I appeared blank. If I hadn't learned this I would have burst out in tears just at seeing these guys. They had kept it even though I was 'dead'. Sango handled it with great care too not even letting Shippo touch it.

They all sat together. Even Inuyasha sat by them. Kikyo stood and folded her arms as if waiting impatiently for them. I looked at the sun. It was just a little after noon. I took a deep breath. I closed my eyes and tried to mediate a bit. The first thing I had to do was find Kikyo's soul in me. I had learned from a Mikoto that everyone could look into their body and soul and that it would look different to everyone. I hadn't done this before but now was the time to try. I followed all the steps Mikoto had told me and suddenly I was surrounded by black.

I looked around. I was almost floating. Suddenly, as if lights had been switched on, the whole place lit up. I looked around again. Now I was in a stone castle. Not like Sesshomaru's nice one but like an old one from the medieval ages or the one in a fairy tale that princesses got locked in. I looked around. There were halls and doors every where. I sighed. This might take a while. I walked to the first door. My foot steps echoed off the walls. I wanted to be silent but it was impossible. I tried to open the fist door but it was locked. I scowled and moved to the next one. It was locked too. I took a deep breath.

"Kikyo! Are you here?!" I yelled.

There was no answer. I started to walk down a hall while calling her name. After a few minutes I stopped getting slightly frustrated. I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate. Suddenly I heard faint crying. I walked towards it slowly. It led up a tall winding stair. When I reached the top I saw a wooden door. The sobbing was coming from in there. I slowly turned the knob. The door swung open and I looked into a plain, round, stone room. I blinked as I saw Kikyo kneeling on the floor. Tears poured down her face. She was wiping them with the back of her hand but having no success in stopping the flow.

"Kikyo." I said.

She looked up at me still crying. When she saw me she cried out and lurched to her feet. She rushed to me and grasped me into a hug. I held her and rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"What is the matter?" I asked.

"I want to leave this stone room. I want to go back to my body."

"Why can't you? The door is open."

"She can not leave your body or this room unless you take her out." A voice said.

I whipped my head around to look at a black wolf. It stood tall on all fours and looked at me with a small smile. I could tell it was female. She had a blue crescent moon on its forehead. She also had blue eyes with gold flecks but the rest of her was black.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm your youkai or inner demon. But I and you will not get my full power till the woman leaves."

"So if Kikyo leaves you are the demon I will be."

"Yes. You will be a black wolf youkai. A relative of the inu youkai." She sniffed. "Your brother said they were black inu ears but they are actually wolf ears."

I smiled.

"Well I'll take Kikyo out then."

"Please do. I want some peace and I want to get my real power. She is also hysterical all the time. She has been trying to call to you but she knows you can't hear her. I have only been in here since the ceremony but I am already ready to kill her." She growled.

I hid a grin as she sniffed again. Kikyo had stopped crying.

"Thank you. I'm sorry." She kept whispering.

I clasped her hand in mine.

"Let's go Kikyo." I said.

She nodded and let me lead her from the room, like she was a lost child. As soon as we stepped from it the door slammed shut and everything turned back. Kikyo started to fade and I could feel her soul leave my body. I also heard the wolf chuckle and my power rise to that of a full demon.

Inuyasha's POV:

We were all sitting beside the stream. Except for Kikyo that was. She stood looking around. I did love her but she was different from when she was alive, she was less pure now. I looked at her and saw Kagome in her. It was ironic. When Kikyo was gone I had seen Kikyo in Kagome and yearned for her. Now that Kagome was gone I saw Kagome in Kikyo and wanted her back. I did not love Kagome the way I loved Kikyo though. I loved her more as a sister. I looked Kikyo over. I suspected she had to do with Kagome's 'carelessness'. Kikyo had told us Kagome had been fighting a demon and let her guard down. She had said another demon had attacked Kagome and she had tried to save her but Kagome had died before being pushed off a cliff.

The others still believed that Kagome was alive. We all did. The only proof was that we had no corpse and that Naraku didn't have the jewel shards Kagome had had and if Kagome was dead he would have gotten them. And Kikyo didn't have all her soul, or so we believed. We wondered where she was if she wasn't dead though. I hadn't gone back to her time and told her family yet. I wanted to either find her alive to take back or find her dead to prove it. I really wanted the first to happen. I didn't have the heart to tell her family she had died because I hadn't watched her closely. And I didn't think many of us could go on without being scarred from her death. I sighed.

Suddenly a white glow erupted behind us. We all spun to see a soul fall into Kikyo. She screamed and then crumpled to the ground. I jumped up and ran to her. No matter how evil she was I couldn't help but love her. Suddenly Kikyo sat up before I even reached her. She looked at me and burst into tears. I stopped flabbergasted. I had never seen Kikyo cry. She hadn't even shed fake tears. The others were gaping. I crouched by Kikyo and she launched into my arms. She cried into my chest.

"I'm so sorry Inuyasha and Miroku and Sango and Shippo and Kirara. I gave Naraku the piece of jewel, and I tried to kill Kagome more then once and I tried to kill Inuyasha and I helped Naraku and I pushed Kagome over the cliff. I'm so sorry." She sobbed.

We all gaped at her confessions. Suddenly Miroku walked up and rested a hand on her head. He closed her eyes a moment. Then he stumbled back gaping. We all looked to him.

"She is completely pure again. All the evil in her is gone."

We all gaped.

"And she has her whole soul back."

At this Sango burst into tears.

"That means Kagome is dead." She sobbed.

Miroku looked to be holding back tears, Shippo was crying silently, and Kirara had wilted. I just sat there. There was silence except for the sobbing.

"No." Kikyo said.

Sango stopped sobbing and just looked up with tears.

"Kagome was the one who saved me. Our soul wasn't torn between our bodies we each had a different soul only part of mine got stuck in her." Kikyo said through her tears.

"That means Kagome is still alive?" I asked quietly.

Kikyo nodded vigorously.

"We have to find her!" Sango said jumping up and wiping her tears away. "Let's leave now!"

"No need." A voice said.

It was feminine and slightly familiar but different. It was like chimes though and sounded beautiful to my sensitive ears. We all looked up at the demoness, which walked into the clearing. She had black ears almost like mine and dark black hair to her waist. She also had claws, small fangs, and blue eyes with gold flecks. She had a blue crescent moon on her forehead. She also had two blue stripes on each cheek and I saw two blue stripes on each arm. She wore deep blue clothes like Sesshomaru's but without armour and with a black sash. She looked very familiar but it couldn't be the person we suspected because this was a full demon not a human.

"No hello?" The person asked wilting a bit.

"Kagome?" Shippo asked.

The person perked up and smiled.

"Hello Shippo." She sang.

Shippo was in the demoness's arms in an instant blubbering something incomprehensible. We all stood. I even lifted Kikyo up with me. She was still sobbing slightly into my chest.

"It can't be you. You're a demon." I whispered.

I really wanted it to be her though. With all my soul I wanted it to be her.

"Of course it's me. Want me to prove it?"

I nodded numbly.

"Oswari." She said.

I tossed Kikyo to Miroku, who caught her, just as I was slammed face first into the ground. I just laid there. I had missed the dirt. Not the dirt it self actually but the voice that made me fall to the dirt. I felt tears in my eyes. I just laid there. I felt a hand on my back.

"Inuyasha are you okay?" A voice asked softly.

I sat up and pulled Kagome into my arms. I let a few tears go as I sat hugging her. She hugged me back. Suddenly we were pried apart and Sango was giving Kagome a hug while Kirara nuzzled her. Shippo was still on her arm too. Kagome rubbed small circles in Sango's back and tried to get her to calm down. Sango just cried. Miroku soon set Kikyo down and crouched down by the others giving Kagome a small hug then trying to sooth Sango. I walked to Kikyo and tried to sooth her too. When the girls were under control we all sat looking at Kagome.

"So where have you been for almost two years?" I asked.

"Well evil Kikyo pushed me off the cliff and I floated down stream a long way. A miko saved me and then I stayed with her and learned how to control my powers."

We all nodded.

"Then I was out to find you. And I accidentally ran into Rin, Sesshomaru's ward. I saved her and Jaken from a demon. Then Sesshomaru showed up."

"If that bastard hurt you just tell me, and I'll go kill him." I growled.

"SSSSHHHH!" The others all said.

I growled and held Kikyo tighter.

"Well I made a deal with him. He took me to his palace and trained me for the last year and a half." Kagome said with a cheery smile.

We all gaped at her. There was silence a minute.

"Then what?" Shippo asked her.

"Well he adopted me as his sister and I turned into a demon."

There was silence again.

"WHAT!?" I yelled.

"I said he adopt…." She started again.

"I heard! How could you let him!? He's cold, cruel, and hates human!" I yelled.

"He isn't cruel and I'm not human anymore." Kagome said with a cheerful smile still on her face.

"But why would he adopt you!?" I asked.

"He adopted me because we are like family." She said.

This made me quiet. Sesshomaru had adopted her before me. I scowled.

"Okay. Let's go then we still have to get Naraku." I said.

I stood up and dusted off staying quiet. Everyone blinked at me with looks that said I-can't-believe-he-took-that-so-well.

"First we have to go to Sesshomaru's castle." Kagome said.

I froze. I slowly turned back to Kagome.

"What?" I asked quietly.

"I told Sesshomaru we would join forces with him. If you do not wish to I will go alone." Kagome said seriously.

I didn't want to lose her after just finding her so soon. I bit my lip.

"Sesshomaru will not kill you. He never really wanted to. He will even give you your rightful title as heir of the west if go home. He said he never hated you he just hated the fact you got the better sword." Kagome said.

I thought for a moment. I knew that was true. I let out a sigh.

"Can we hurry then?" I asked.

Kagome smiled brilliantly. Then she stood up. The others followed suit.

"First I have to go home. My family will wonder where I have gone." She said.

We nodded.

"You guys can go ahead. I'll meet you at the castle in a couple of days."

"I'll come with yo-" I started.

"Go. Kikyo needs you right now and Sesshomaru is expecting you."

I opened my mouth again but Kagome had already grabbed her yellow bag and was gone. We all looked at one another. We stood a moment. Then Sango jumped onto Kirara along with Shippo and Miroku. Kikyo climbed on my back at my suggestion and I ran along side the large neko as we made our way to the western castle. I was very tempted to follow Kagome but I knew I need to sort some stuff out with my brother and that Kagome would be mad if I followed her. The others sensed I need friends me with me more then Kagome at the moment too and followed along even though I knew they wanted to go with Kagome. We all let out one sigh and continued on.

Kagome's POV:

I ran softly across the grounds through the trees. I really didn't want to leave my friends but I knew I had to go home. I sighed and picked up my pace. One nice thing about being a demon was that I moved so much faster. I guessed I was at least as fast as Sesshomaru now. As I ran everything blurred past me. I smiled and thrust up, jumping high. I felt like I was flying as I cleared the trees. I looked around before gravity took effect. I hit the ground softly and kept running. I smiled brightly. This was wonderful.

After a few minutes I knew I was getting close to the well. As it came into view I didn't even slow down. I vaulted over the rim and feel as a blue light surrounded me. A second later I touched the ground softly. I looked up. I saw the roof of the well house. I jumped up out of the well and looked around. I walked to the door and opened it slightly. My senses were bombarded. I shut the door and threw a barrier to keep smell and sound dimmed. I gasped for air. 'Is that what Inuyasha smells and hears every time he gets here?' I asked myself.

'Of course not. He is merely a half demon. Full blooded wolf youkai have even better senses then an inu youkai. So you smell and hear the stuff here better.' A familiar voice said.

I whipped around.

"Who's there?" I asked.

I heard a sigh.

'It's me. Your inner youkai.' The voice said.

'OH! You're the wolf I saw.'

'Yes.'

'So you can talk to me?'

'Duh.'

'What was that about youkai again?' I asked.

'A black wolf youkai is very similar to an inu youkai. They are in fact more similar to inu youkai then to other wolf youkai. A black wolf youkai has better sense though. You can taste, smell, hear, and see better. But other then that you are almost exactly the same as an inu youkai.'

'So I can use a whip thingy, fly, transform, and have red eyes?' I asked.

'Yes you have a whip, yes you can fly, yes you can transform, and yes your eyes will bleed red when you are angry and I start to take control.'

'Cool.'

'Mh.'

She fell silent after that. I shrugged and looked back out the door. This time I had my barrier on. I could still smell and hear well though. I didn't smell anyone in the shrine grounds so I skipped to the door or the house. I opened the door and walked in. I immediately smelled tea. I walked silently to the kitchen and peered in. My mother was humming while making tea. I stepped in a waited for her to see me. She turned and stopped humming. She froze and gaped.

"Hi mom." I said softly.

She stood gaping a minute longer. Then she rushed up to me and wrapped me in a hug crying softly.

"We thought something bad had happened to you." She sobbed.

I tried to sooth her.

"I got injured and stayed in a village while learning about my miko powers. Then I came to look for the others and visit but I ran into Inuyasha's brother Sesshomaru and he took me to his castle to train me. I wanted to come back but he was very strict about the training and I didn't have time. I'm sorry."

"I'm just glad you're okay." She sniffed.

She finally let go.

"You look like a demon."

"I'll explain when the others get here."

"Okay. Your grandfather just went to a shrine convention and took Souta. They should be back in two to three hours."

I nodded.

"I need to do some shopping so I'll do that now."

Mom nodded and gave me another hug. Then I sprinted up to my room. I dropped my yellow bag on my bed and stripped. I threw my feudal clothes onto my chair and instead pulled on a blue skirt that fell to my knees and a black t-shirt. I grabbed my purse and threw my wallet in. Then I hoped down the stairs again. I cast another barrier/spell around myself. Now no one would notice my ears, marking, or my claws and fangs. And a second barrier to hide my miko powers, my demon aurora, and scent from others. Then I shot out the door. I hoped down all the shrine stairs humming as I went. I quickly walked down the side walk as I made a mental list of what I needed. I had told Rin all about my world and had promised to let her try some ramen and candy. I also needed to get ramen for Inuyasha and candy for Shippo. And I wanted to get some toys for the children. And on top of that I wanted some fabric and other small items.

So I made up my mind and headed to a toy store first. I found one quite easily and ducked in. I looked through the store before I grabbed some crayons and pads of paper. Then I grabbed Rin a large butterfly kite and I grabbed Shippo a smaller kite of a fish. I also grabbed them each a top and yo-yo. Then I paid and skipped out heading for the next store; a fabric store. As I entered I saw a lot of women walking around. I looked around quickly before I grabbed the bolts of fabric I wanted. I got some cut out and paid putting it in the bags of toys. Then I skipped out and headed for my last stop; the grocery store.

I walked in and grabbed a cart. The place was crowded. Then I remembered it was a Saturday a busy day. I sighed slightly. I squeezed past some people and headed down some isles. I threw a lot of ramen then moved to the chip isle. I grabbed some chips for Inuyasha before heading to the tea and coffee isle. We didn't like coffee but everyone in the group liked tea except Shippo. I threw in some flavours of tea for each member and then headed for the candy. I grabbed some for both Shippo and Rin getting them a large selection. Then I made my way to the check out. As I got there, I unloaded my cart. The women at the till rang it all through while talking to some friend about her boyfriend problems. I rolled my eyes and paid quickly.

When I walked out I was weighed down by bags. At least I looked weighed down. This much was easy to carry after training in heavy armour and weights while carrying a sword. I walked down the streets at a leisurely pace heading home. That was until I heard the voices I dreaded.

"KAGOME!" They squealed.

I winced and slowly turned. Three girls in their nineteen's and one boy waved while trotting towards me. As they reached me they peered at my eyes.

"Hey Kagome aren't your eyes brown?" Eri asked.

"Yeah I just got blue contacts."

"I didn't know you had vision problems." Yuri said.

"Just got them, recently."

"Oh well that aside where have you been!?" Ayumi asked.

"Your family said you moved in with some relatives in another country." Hojo said smiling.

I gave a smile back.

"Yeah. My health was getting really bad and my aunt had a house in the country. My family thought I should get away from the city."

"So did you go to school and graduate there?" Ayumi asked.

"Yeah."

I hadn't finished high school but it didn't matter that much because Sesshomaru had got me a teacher while in the feudal era. He had taught me lessons almost every day. I was thankful for that.

"So what kind of job do you have, or are you going to college?" Eri asked.

"College." I said.

"Do you have a boyfriend at your aunts?" Yuri asked slyly.

"No." I said with out thinking.

The three girls shared looks and then glanced at Hojo who seemed as naïve as usual.

"Here Kagome those look heavy we'll take them home for you."

The three grabbed my bags and then ran off towards my shrine, leaving me with Hojo. He scratched the back of his head and looked at the ground a lop-sided grin on his face.

"Well it's nice to see you again Kagome. I want you to know that after you left I dated another girl for a while but we broke up after a month."

I almost sighed out loud. Couldn't he have just stayed with the girl? I smiled at him

"Well I was wondering if you would like to go to a movie and dinner. We could even go now if you aren't busy." He said. "And maybe we could go to my place afterwards."

He said the last part seductively. He was drop dead gorgeous now. I guessed many girls had fallen for his charms. I could sense with my powers that he was no longer innocent or pure. I opened my mouth trying to think of an excuse.

"I'm sorry Hojo I'm going out with some one else."

"I thought you didn't have a boy friend at you aunts." He scowled.

"No but I have one here." I said.

Then I turned and walked off. I heard Hojo run up beside me. He wore a small scowl.

"Just give me a chance. We don't even have to go out. Just come to my house and have some tea so we can…talk."

I knew he wouldn't just 'talk' with me. I guessed that his bed was already for us.

"I told you I'm seeing someone."

"But Kagome I'm probably much better then them. Besides you never broke up with me, that makes you still my girlfriend." He said.

I almost turned and punched him hard but I had better control of my emotions. It seemed Hojo had changed _a lot_ since last time I saw him. I saw him reach for my arm. By the looks of this he would use force on me in a minute and I didn't want to fight him. I saw a boy with bright red hair in a pony tail and a boy with orange Elvis style hair talking in font of a house. I jogged up to the red haired guy. I wrapped my arm around his and smiled up at him.

"Hello dear, sorry I'm late, shopping took longer then usual."

Kurama's POV:

Kuwabara and I were talking when I felt an arm loop around mine. I looked down and my breath caught. A woman with ebony tresses down to her waist and blue eyes with gold flecks looked up at me with a smile. She had perfect porcelain skin and luscious looking lips and curves in all the right places. She was a beauty among beauties. Youko, in my head, had practically fainted and he was totally getting aroused. Kuwabara stopped talking and looked down at her. He was almost drooling.

"Hello dear, sorry I'm late, shopping took longer then usual."

I opened my mouth to tell her she had the wrong person when I saw the man a few feet away scowling. He smelled of anger and I realized the woman was trying to get away from him.

"That's okay." I smiled at her.

She gave me a smile that radiated thanks. The man glared at me.

"So you are Kagome's new boy friend?" He spat.

-I guess her name is Kagome- Youko purred.

He was getting more aroused by the second because Kagome was leaning against me like a clingy girlfriend.

"Yes." I answered the boy

The boy glared then stalked off. Kagome sighed once he was out of sight. Then she stepped back away from me. I was grateful because it was hard keeping Youko under control. She smiled at me and bowed her head.

"Thank you…"

"Kurama." I said.

"Thank you Kurama. He was getting a bit forceful and I didn't want to fight him."

"You're welcome."

"Is there anything I can do to thank you?" she asked.

-I can think of a few things- Youko purred sending me some mental images of her under me.

I chocked on air and covered it with a cough.

"No." I said quickly.

"So she's not your girl friend?" Kuwabara asked.

"Who are you?" Kagome asked politely.

"Kuwabara the great." He said striking a pose.

Kagome smiled in amusement.

"Well Kuwabara I am not his girlfriend."

"Oh so he is gay."

I whipped my head up and scowled at him.

"How did you come to that conclusion?" I asked.

"Well you have girls flocking over you yet you never do anything and you haven't been with a girl in years." Kuwabara said.

"Just because I have more control over my emotions and hormones then you, for example, does not mean I'm gay." I said.

Kagome giggled. We both turned back to her.

"Don't worry Kuwabara I highly doubt Kurama is gay. Now I must be going. Maybe we will see each other again sometime."

We both nodded and Kagome bowed again before trotting off down the street. I watched her leave then got back to the conversation I was having with Kuwabara.

Kagome's POV:

I breathed a sigh of relief. It was a stroke of luck to find the guy with intelligence enough to see my problem. I smiled. He seemed nice too. The one called Kuwabara seemed as smart as a brick though. I snorted in amusement and trotted off towards my shrine. As I reached it I ran up the long stairs. When I reached the top I ran to the house as I took my barriers off, except the one to block most scents and some of my hearing. I found my bags in the hall. My mother popped her head from the kitchen and smiled at me.

"Your friends dropped off your bags. They said you were talking to Hojo. Do you have a date planned?" She asked.

"No, and if Hojo ever comes here, push him down the shrine stairs."

My mother blinked and walked up to me. She rested her hands on my shoulders.

"What did he do? He didn't hurt you did he?" She asked quietly looking her over.

"He almost forced me." I said.

She pinched her lips together.

"Don't worry I could beat him up with both hands tied behind my back. Even if you tied me all up I could beat him."

She sighed. Then she turned and walked back to the kitchen. I gathered up my bags and headed up the stairs. When I reached my room I dumped the bags on my bed. I looked at my yellow back pack. I didn't like yellow that much anymore. I walked to Souta's room and pulled a giant black back pack from under his bed. I smiled and walked back to my room. I started to stuff the bag full. When I was finally done it was completely full. Then I smelled the scent of others. I heard the door open. I smiled. It had to be gramps and Souta. I skipped down the stairs and turned into the halls to have powder thrown in my face and something hit on my head. I coiffed as the dust settled on me. I started to brush it off at the same time.

"Be gone demon!" Grandpa yelled while throwing three sutras at me.

I pulled them off and shredded them with my claws. Grandpa gasped and swung his wooden sword. I grabbed it and scowled at him.

"Would you stop doing that grandpa?"

He gaped at me.

"Kagome?" He finally asked.

I nodded. He started to cry.

"I thought you were dead."

He wiped his tears away.

"And why are you a demon!?"

I sighed. Suddenly Souta popped from the kitchen. He took one look at me and launched himself at me. I hugged him tight.

"Sis! We were so worried a demon had eaten you. Wow! You have ears like Inuyasha!"

He started to rub my ears and I growled softly in pleasure.

"Dinner!" My mother called.

The three of us headed to the kitchen. As soon as we were sitting and eating I explained my whole tale. The whole time they listened patiently while captivated. When I had finished they asked there questions. Finally they ran out of questions. I thanked mom for dinner and helped clean up. Then I ran to the bathroom. I had a long warm shower scrubbing a lot. When that was done I headed to my room where I promptly fell onto my bed already drifting off.

.—

I looked around and smiled. I was in a large grassy field and it was a little after sunset. The stars shone and the full moon looked beautiful. As I took a step fire flies lit up and floated every where. I smiled even more.

"It is very nice." Some one said.

I looked at my inner youkai. The large black wolf sat beside me.

"What is? My dream?"

"This is your dream world."

"My what?"

She sighed.

"Only those with great power can control their dreams. You are one of the people. You shape the dream to what feels right, to what your soul likes."

"Oh. I always wondered why my dreams were so perfect."

The wolf rolled her eyes.

"You can do anything you want in here. You even have enough power to summon others into here as long as they are asleep, because of your miko powers and strong youki. You could probably even summon dead spirits. And you can control time. If you want, an hour in the real world to last a month here it can or if you want each hour to last a minute it could. Those are probably your limits though."

"Wow." I said.

The wolf nodded.

"So what can I call you?" I asked.

"I am technically you so I don't have a name or I'm you, Kagome."

"Well what can I call so you know I'm talking to or about you?"

"Call me… Kean. You always liked that name."

"Okay….So what are you doing here?"

"Well we are pretty much the same person so I can come into your dreams."

"Oh."

"And some one will be visiting us."

I looked at her.

"Who?"

"Me."

We both turned to look at a woman who looked similar to me.

"Midoriko." I breathed.

She smiled.

"Yes Kagome, it is me."

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I'm here to train you. I know you already trained with one miko but she wasn't as strong as you and didn't know all you were capable of. Now the first thing to do is tell you how your miko powers remained with you as you became a demon."

She cleared her throat and I listened closely.

"Since you are a reincarnation of me, the strongest miko to ever live, before you, you were made the Shikon No Miko. The powers you got are in your soul and blood. They will never vanish. Never. Nothing can take them from you. Now since they had to stay with you but you had demon blood the two mixed. You, as a demon, are now immune to purification, and as a miko are immune to being controlled or over taken by a demon aurora alone. Got it?"

I nodded. I think I had it.

"Now, I'm here to train you because you did master most of your miko powers but there are many things you can do with it that you haven't learned yet."

I nodded.

"While you are awake you train and such. Now in your dreams you will also train."

I sighed. More training.

"Will this do anything to my body? Like exhaust it?" I asked.

Midoriko shook her head.

"You will learn and your body will get stronger but you will not tire yourself. Your body is still resting but you still have time to train."

I nodded and sighed.

"I will teach you how to do more with your powers, we will practice your other skills, and Kean will teach you about your demon self. Sesshomaru has already had some one teach you etiquette, math, history, what you call science, and such and you will continue those lessons with your tutor. Okay?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Now I need you to change time in here."

"By how much?"

"So that an hour out there, lasts a week in here. It will give us more time. We won't do that every night though."

She grinned and I got a dread feeling I was going to go through hell in my training. She started teaching me immediately after I got time set to the way we needed.

. THE REAL WORLD—

I lifted an arm shielding my face from the lights first rays. I sighed. It had been a hard 'night'. To others it would have been a regular night of a few hours but I had lengthened time in my dream world and it had been seven hours equalling seven weeks. Midoriko had taught me a whole whack of tricks and spells to use with miko powers and Kean had taught me everything about black wolf Youkai along with teaching me how to use their abilities. I sat up and yawned before I slipped from bed.

I needed to get back to the past. I quickly dressed in my feudal clothes and pulled my bag onto my back. As I entered the kitchen I saw breakfast ready and Souta already eating. My mom was setting more food on the table and Grandpa had just walked in from the opposite door. They saw my outfit and were silent. We ate in almost absolute silence. When we had finished I stood. Mom hugged me tight then Souta and gramps did the same.

"Be careful." My mother whispered.

"I will be." I said as I headed out the door.

I walked to the well house and jumped into the well. The familiar blue light surrounded me and I set down in the past. When I jumped from the well I saw the rolling green grass and large trees.

'I sense something to the east.' Kean said in my mind.

I lifted my barriers and sniffed. I frowned as I smelled blood. I decided to check it out. I took off running at top speed through the trees always getting closer to the blood. I ran for only a few minutes before I found a clearing. I hid in a tree and scanned everything. There were bandits all sitting around on logs and laughing at the show in the middle. They all sat in front of about five huts. The leader, who happened to be a demon, was beating a kid that looked no older then thirteen. The boy had black hair with a white starburst. He looked very malnourished and he had clothes that were little more then rags. I flinched as I saw all the wounds on him. I could already sense that he was a forbidden child of fire and ice. He was crying as the demon beat him. The tears turned to jewels before they hit the ground though. I knew they only had him under their power because he was still a child and so badly hurt. I felt anger rise.

How could they do that to a child!? I bit back my growls. I saw the demon stop kicking the child. He let the boy try to crawl back a bit as he gathered the jewels. He threw them in a sack about as big as a large handbag, and it looked already more then half full. I felt my eyes start to bleed red. I felt Kean try to get out but I held her back. With Midoriko I had learned how to make a solid bow out of my powers. I did this now. All my miko powers gathered in my hand as a pick bow that glowed slightly. I had a barrier around it so the demon and bandits below wouldn't notice, though. I saw the child trying to stop the tears that just profited the demon. The demon looked over at him.

"Kito. I'm going to tally the jewels. Gather the ones the kid cries and go ahead and play with him.

"I thought he was your toy boss." A large, scarred man boomed.

"I'm bored of him."

The man named Kito grinned and walked to the child. He gathered the jewels and stuffed them in a pouch as he grabbed the boy dragging him towards a hut. I gaped at what I realized they meant. I dropped from the trees silently. Kito saw me though. He scowled.

"Boss." He called.

The boss looked back and saw me. He grinned.

"Well looky here, a pretty little kitty has come to play. Perfect timing too, I just got bored of my last toy."

I just raised my bow. He scowled then grinned when he saw no arrow.

"You don't have any arrows little kitty."

I pulled the bow string back and released it. A pink arrow materialized and shot for the demon. He screamed once as it struck him and purified him. The bandits gaped. Then they growled and rose, grabbing weapons. Before they could blink I fired three more bolts. I fired shot after shot each one hitting its mark. Soon no one but the boy and I were left alive. The boy was still trying to scoot back. I took a step forwards but he whimpered and moved back more. He seemed to be on the verge of unconsciousness so I decided to wait till he passed out before I approached him.

I walked to the bosses ashes and grabbed the sack. I also walked to Kito and grabbed the jewels from his pockets. Then I walked into each hut gathering the jewels in them and finding a reasonably clean and small pair of clothes. I grabbed a few other things of use too. When I entered the boss's hut I gasped and grabbed a small black cat that sat on the floor. It had a tight leather collar on that was so tight it was slowly strangling the cat. It looked almost dead. Its coat was coated in blood too I could tell that it was a demon even though it was the size of a regular house cat. I healed it with my miko powers. It fell from unconscious to in a deep coma. I carried it out side and moved to my bag. I set my cloth at the top of my bag and gently laid the cat on it before shutting the bag gently. Then I slowly put my bag on and grabbed the jewels.

I walked to the boy who was now unconscious and scooped him up. I walked off quickly from the camp. I didn't want to run and make the boy's injuries worst. I healed him with my miko powers as I walked. He felt much to light for comfort too. When all his injuries were healed I took off at a faster pace. I needed a place to stop for the day. Even though it was still a little after breakfast I needed to take care of the boy. I travelled for over an hour before I found a good place. It was a small clearing surrounded by trees. It was right beside a crystal clear stream and a small waterfall. And was shaded too.

I stopped and gently laid the boy on the moss. I listened to his regular breathing and check him one last time. Then I opened my back pack. I took the cat out and gently and laid it a distance from the boy. When that was done I set the pair of clothes from the bandits and the bag of jewels next to the boy. I also walked to the stream and dipped a cloth in it. I walked back to the boy and washed the dried blood from his arms, legs, and face. Then I washed as much blood from the cat as possible. I stood and watched them. I sighed after a minute and went to hunt for some meat.

I came back fifteen minutes later with four already skinned and gutted rabbits. I started a fire and stuck them over it. When the rabbit was cooked I set them off to the side and ate a little. When that was done I noticed the cat waking up. It slowly raised its head and looked at me. It blinked then jumped up and back. It stood fur all on end. I held out a piece of rabbit it to it. It looked at the food and sniffed. The fur slowly flattened and it stepped forwards warily. I smiled and it slowly crept forwards more. When it reached the rabbit in my hand it grabbed it and scurried back wolfing down the food.

"Don't eat it to fast or you will get sick." I told it.

It slowed a bit but kept eating. When it was done I held out more. It finished this off but refused more. Then it sat watching me. It was a purple black cat with unreal icy blue eyes. It looked normal, except for the color of its eyes, but it was a demon.

"What kind of demon are you?" I asked.

'I think it is a rare ice cat.' Kean said.

'What are they?' I asked.

'They are demon cats that can look like a normal house cat but they can transform into a large cat, like that fire neko of the slayers. Depending on the type the large cat they turn into would be certain types. Like this one would most likely turn into a panther. And this cat would be able to use ice attacks.'

'Can they fly?'

'Yes.'

'So why are they rare?'

'They just started to die out. They are even rarer then the two tailed neko.'

I looked at the cat again.

"Are you an ice cat?" I asked.

It tilted its head then nodded.

"So you understand me?"

It nodded again. I watched it as it watched me.

"Are you feeling better?"

It nodded.

"Did they catch you when you were weak, then keep you weak? The bandits I mean."

The cat nodded yet again.

"Well my name is Kagome. I'm a black wolf youkai."

The cat studied me. Then it walked over to me and rubbed against me purring. I petted it softly.

'It likes us.' Kean chuckled.

"Do you want to travel with me?" I asked.

It nodded and jumped to my shoulder. It curled around my neck and purred. Suddenly I saw the boy out of the corner of my eye. He slowly propped him self on one elbow rubbing his eyes. He looked down at the clothes and jewels. I started to pet the cat. Suddenly he sniffed and looked at the rabbit hungrily. Then he saw me. He cringed and tried to back away.

"I will not hurt you." I said.

He looked at me. He gulped and glanced at me again.

"Why don't you wash off, pull the clothes on, and then come eat."

He watched me a moment. Then he slowly stood grabbing the clothes. He ran past me and then jumped in the water setting his new clothes down. As he was in the water he took his old cloth off setting them down. I respectfully turned my back. After a few minutes I heard him get out. I heard the rustle of clothes then the patter of feet. I turned around and handed him the food. He immediately sat and started to eat ignoring his fear of me. When he had finished the last three rabbits off he washed then sat on one side of the fire. I walked and grabbed his old clothes. I threw them in the fire and watched them burn.

"Um…Lady…" he started.

"My name is Kagome." I said softly.

He looked at the ground.

"Lady Kagome, why did you save me?" He asked.

"I saved you because you needed help and because they treated you so cruelly."

"They treated me like that because I am a forbidden child."

"No one should be treated like that even if you are a forbidden child. And it is not your fault that you are who you are born to be."

He looked up at me and I gave him a soft smile.

"Would you like something else to eat?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"Well do you have anywhere to go?"

He shook his head again.

"Then why don't you travel with me."

He blinked.

"Okay."

I smiled. Then suddenly he bowed, his head touching the ground.

"Thank you for saving me."

"You're welcome. May I ask your name?"

"Hiei." He said.

I smiled.

"Well we should leave if you are well enough. No point sitting here."

He nodded. I walked to my bag and picked it up swinging it onto my shoulder. I saw him stand. I looked him over again. The clothes were a bit big on him and not that good of quality. He stepped up behind me.

"Don't forget your sack." I said.

"My sack?" He asked.

I pointed to the one full of jewels. He walked over to it and picked it up. He looked in and blinked. Then he glanced at me.

"You didn't take any." He said is surprise.

"Of course not. They are yours, not mine."

"But you are allowed to take them since you defeated the previous owner."

"You are the owner and I have not defeated you, so stop complaining and come on."

He opened his mouth then closed it again and followed me as I headed through the trees. When I had grabbed Hiei I had planned on heading to Sesshomaru's castle but now I had remembered somewhere else I wanted to go. As we walked the cat stayed curled around my neck. Hiei followed close behind me.

'Hey Kean.' I called.

'What?' she asked.

'Do you think the cat already has a name?'

'Probably not. Their masters always choose their names.'

'So I get to name it?'

'Yes.'

'What should I name it?'

'I don't know.'

I started to list names off in my head. Hiei, I noticed, watched me closely as if trying to figure me out. We walked for most of the day. I wanted to run but I didn't think Hiei was up to it yet. He was still weak. By sunset we finally reached the village I wanted. I walked to the last hut and called out.

"Kaede?"

I had noticed as soon as we had entered the village Hiei had tried to look invisible and stayed right beside me.

"Is that yea Kagome?" Someone asked.

Hiei and I walked into the hut to find Kagome making a stew. She looked up at me and sniffed holding back tears. She stood and hobbled over to me giving me a hug.

"We were worried you be dead."

"I'm fine."

"Have yea seen the others?"

"Yes. Let us sit and I will explain."

She nodded. I sat cross-legged across from her, and Hiei sat next to me. I let my cat sleep and pulled out some clothe and sewing stuff. I started to explain my story as Hiei sat still, the cat slept, and Kaede cooked. I also sewed while I talked. After about an hour Kaede's stew was done and I had finished my story. I had also almost finished half of the thing I was making. Kaede handed us each some stew and we all ate. When I was finished I refilled my bowl and set it down. I woke the cat and he started to eat from the bowl. Hiei still sat starring across the fire but I saw his eyes droop.

I looked at him. I knew he was still drained even after my healing and the rest. I watched him and as he fell asleep I caught him. I gently lowered him to the ground and rested his head on my lap. He cuddled up and clutched my pants in his fist. Kaede smiled and also pulled out a blanket, lying down. My cat sauntered over to her and lay down beside her on the blanket. I just sat in the fading fire light and kept sewing. As a demon I didn't need as much sleep so I would be fine if I missed a night to finish something. In the end it didn't take a night I was finished what I had been sewing by mid-night and had put it away before leaning against the wall and falling asleep to go meet Midoriko and Kean in my dream world.


	15. Black Inu Part 2

Hiei's POV:

I woke early in the morning to warmth. I realized I was comfortable and that I was lying on something soft. I slowly opened my eyes and blinked at blue fabric. I slowly lifted my head and my eyes widened as I realized I had been sleeping with my head on Kagome's lap. I quickly scooted away. I almost jumped ten feet in the air at the 'meow' behind me. I looked at the black cat of Kagomes. It seemed to smirk. I glared at it and it glared back.

"Oh you're awake, Hiei." Kagome said.

I turned and looked at her as she smiled.

"Nh." I said.

The cat trotted around me and over to her returning to her shoulder. She petted it softly. She looked at the woman named Kaede. She was still asleep. Then Kagome silently stood and grabbed her bag. She motioned me to follow as she left the hut. Once outside I saw that the sun was just peaking out over the horizon.

"Well we should get going." She smiled.

I nodded and followed her closely. I felt I could trust her and I would. She seemed kind and nice. It was better to be with her then alone. As we walked out of the village I relaxed more. As the day wore on we talked. Kagome also gave her cat the name Rei. The cat seemed to like the name. I found out quite a bit about Kagome. Kagome herself was pretty interesting. At lunch we stopped for a small break and Kagome gave me some food she said was 'Ramen' or as a friend called it 'ninja food'. It was noodles in a bowl of some kind. It was okay but I still liked meat better. When the sun started to set we stopped in another clearing and this time Kagome caught more rabbits while I caught some fish. When we had finished eating Kagome pulled her sewing back out. She wouldn't tell me what she was sewing though. I soon drifted off.

.--.

Then next morning I woke with the sun at the same time as Kagome. Today I told her I was feeling better and we ran. We ran for a while then took a break before continuing. By dinner we had reached a smiths house. Kagome said the smiths name was Totosi. I hadn't heard of him. As we walked into his place we found an old man with huge eyes. He was a demon for sure.

"Kagome!" He said. "I thought you were dead… until Myoga told me about the incident that is."

"Mh." Kagome said. "Hey Hiei will you go get some fire wood for us?" She asked.

I knew she wanted to talk to the man in private so I nodded and walked off. I went to the back of the place to find only a small amount of wood left. I decided to go grab some from the forest nearby. I walked off at a nice pace and soon found the forest. I walked in and started to scout for wood. When I had a good amount I walked back to the place. I then sat outside waiting for the two. Two seconds later I heard a cry of pain. I jumped up and ran towards the door. I stopped and looked in to see Totosi with huge pliers and Kagome holding her mouth. In the pliers was a fang. I deemed everything okay and walked back. A minute latter I heard the clang of a hammer and Kagome joined me.

"Hey Hiei, we'll be here for about two days. Okay?"

"Okay."

She sat beside me and we both looked off at the almost setting sun. After a while Kagome grabbed her bag and we headed off to the trees where we would be more comfortable. We made a fire and caught some more food. Then we both sat and ate. When that was done I leaned against a tree while Kagome sat by the fire. She kept sewing on something new. I had noticed that she had sewed three things out of black cloth and one out of white cloth already and now she was doing something with some red cloth. I wondered how late she stayed up to do each of those. I soon got bored of watching her sew though. She had started to hum a while back and it was slowly making me drift off.

.--.

I sat up and saw Kagome sleeping. I just yawned and went to get some fish for breakfast. For the whole day Kagome started to teach me hand to hand combat. It was better then doing nothing and useful so I did it. We talked while Kagome taught me. Well Kagome talked I just gave short answers. We did it all day until the sunset. Then we had diner and once again Kagome started to sew. I fell asleep easy again.

.--.

I woke up after Kagome today. She was up and cooking when I woke. It was our last day here.

"We will leave tomorrow morning." Kagome said as she handed me my breakfast.

I nodded and ate. We did more hand to hand combat and I liked it. I already knew a few good moves. At noon she grabbed two sticks and threw me one. She said usually she would have taught me all hand to hand combat before swords but she was going to skip the hand to hand and start with the sword. She started to teach me moves which I learned instantly. It felt like I had been born to hold the sword….stick. Then at dinner Kagome and I both walked back to Totosi's but left Rei at the camp to guard our stuff. As we walked into Totosi's smith he met us. He handed Kagome a long sword in a sheath. She thanked him and then we walked back to the camp. Kagome then dug in her bag as I sat across the fire from her. She pulled out the black and white clothe. She smiled and beckoned me forwards. She set the clothes in my hands.

"This is an outfit for you. It has some miko spells on it so it will protect you, like armour but it is not invincible."

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. No one had ever given me a gift before. I clutched it then walked behind a tree and changed into it. When I stepped out I was wearing some black baggy pants, a black shirt almost no sleeve shirt, a large black coat/cloak and a white scarf. I bowed.

"Thank you." I said.

"I also got this for you."

I looked up to see her arm extended to me. The sword was in her hand. I gaped.

"I can't accept that. It's to great a gift."

"Yes you can accept it."

I slowly reached out and took it.

"It is made of my fang and will not break under any heat or any freezing temperature. It will never be broken by any other blade either and it will protect you sometimes. The sheath can block an attack from any sword or weapon too.

I grasped it tightly in my hand.

"Thank you."

It was all I could think to say. I slipped the sword in my waist and bowed. Kagome smiled at me. Suddenly she stood up looking fierce. I was slightly startled. Then I sensed a demon coming. We jumped together. I saw Rei started to growl his fur all on end. Suddenly a gust of wind came from above. A woman on a feather dropped from the sky. She wore a kimono and had a fan hiding her face.

"Kagura." Kagome said.

Kagura scowled at her.

"Kagome? Inuyasha's wench? What are you doing away from you're group, and why are you a demon?" She asked.

Kagome smirked.

"So you came to see me but didn't know who I was." Kagome said.

"I came for your jewel shards."

I knew she meant the jewel shards I had seen hanging from Kagome's necklace.

"As if I would give them to you." Kagura said.

Kagura scowled.

"Then I will have to take them."

Her fan snapped up and suddenly large blades were flying at us. Kagome dodged and jumped up. Rei being small hadn't even been noticed. Suddenly an icy cloud surrounded Rei and he transformed into a large panther twice as large as a regular one and his feet were surrounded by icy clouds. I dodged as many of the blades as I could. Kagura saw that I wasn't to fast and still a child. She smirked and threw more wind blades at me. I dodged as many as I could but suddenly one hit my arm. I cried out in pain. Kagome looked mad now. She lunged at Kagura who only had time to blink before she had a hand with poison claws through her chest. She gasped. Kagome pulled her arm out and jumped back. Kagura pulled a feather form her hair and flew up. Kagome rushed to me. I clutched my arm. She looked at it.

"It seems my spells worked. If not you would have lost an arm. All that happened was that it broke. I'll heal it."

I felt a shiver rise in me as her miko powers healed the break. When she was done I felt better though. She took a step back. I sniffed and stepped up to her. She blinked down at me.

"It is disgraceful when a man can not protect himself or a woman."

She smiled but nodded.

"So I promise to get stronger so I can protect you." I said.

She blinked. Then she smiled.

"Okay."

She stuck a hand out and I shook it.

"A hand shake promise can be broke easily though."

She blinked again.

"I want to promise with blood."

She blinked once again and opened her mouth. Then she nodded very slowly. She pulled out a dagger. I took it and sliced my palm. She then took the knife back and sliced her own hand. Then we clasped hands our blood mixing in an oath.

"I promise I will get stronger and protect you. I swear to always be loyal to you. You saved me and I am now dedicated to you through my own free will and the life debt I woe you. I will do what ever you ask when ever you ask. You gave me a life so I will give it to you."

I felt my blood warm a second and I pulsed slightly. I knew the oath was burned into my blood.

"I believe you." She whispered.

Then she healed the cuts on our hands. She walked back to her bag. She pulled out more sewing and got to work. Rei turned small again and sat on her shoulder. I walked to my sack of jewels and started to pull some out. I turned my back so Kagome could not see what I was doing. After about an hour I saw Kagome set her things aside. I did the same. I lay down and took even breathes. I pretended to sleep. When I was sure Kagome was deep asleep I sat up. Rei was awake watching me.

"Can you keep her asleep?" I asked.

I wondered if he even had that ability. Suddenly he nodded and a soft illuminating blue glow surrounded Kagome a moment. I crept to her bag and reached inside. I pulled out a few scraps of cloth and some paper. I crept back to my side of the fire. I quickly wrapped some of the jewels in a spare piece of cloth. Then I pulled out two things I had made for Kagome that night. One was a necklace of the jewels. It had my hair for string and most likely wouldn't break. I wrapped it in another piece of cloth. Then a wrapped a second necklace in cloth. It wasn't as gaudy and full as the first. It had only one jewel but it was the nicest and largest jewel I had. I wrapped it up and set it next to the others. Then I clenched my hands letting my nails break the skin. Once I had blood on my finger nails I grabbed the paper.

_I am going to train. The necklaces are for you, along with the jewels. Sell them. They are worth a lot. I will get stronger so I can protect you. I will find you in the future. I want to thank you for the clothes, sword, time, and kindness you gave me. You were the first person I ever trusted. Thank you._

Then I stood up. I grabbed my sack and looked at Rei who was watching me. I walked up to Kagome and brushed a hair from her face. She was the first person to earn my trust and my love. I blushed slightly. I had been with her less then a week and I already felt something for her. I kissed her lips gently. Then I stepped back and turned to Rei. I bowed slightly to him.

"Protect her."

He sniffed and gave me a look that said 'of course'. I smiled and pinched my lips together before running off into the trees. I would get stronger.

Kagome's POV:

I sighed as I read the note. I had known he wouldn't stay long but I had hoped he would. He was a nice person. I folded the note and stuck it in my bag. Then I moved to the small bundle of cloth. He had said something about jewels in his note so I knew what was in the cloth. I slowly opened it and gasped. In the first small bundle were about fifty jewels of various sizes and qualities. I looked them over before moving to the second package. I opened it and gapped. It had a large necklace in it. There were at least thirty jewels on it and was beautiful. I wondered briefly how he had got the jewels on his strand of hair.

I opened the last package and starred a moment. There was a black strand of hair tied as a necklace with one jewel on it. The jewel was the largest and nicest one I had seen. It was deep black but when the light hit it right it looked deep red. I ran a finger over it. Then I gently lifted it and hung it over my neck beside the necklace that held the jewel shards. I gathered the jewels up and put them in a box I had in my bag. Then I shouldered my bag and looked at Rei. He smiled innocently at me.

"You kept me asleep somehow didn't you." I scowled.

He gave me a look that said 'who? Me?' I scowled again and stood up.

"Well we better go see the others they will be worried. And if I remember correctly Sesshomaru was going to meet with King Enma in two days. I want to be there for the meeting and I need to be prepared."

Rei nodded. Then he leapt to my shoulder. I ran off as quickly as I could. I ran the whole day in silence. Then just before sunset I ran up to the gate of Sesshomaru's castle. The guards saw me and bowed as one ran off to tell Sesshomaru I had returned. I walked into the palace and into my room. I set my bag down and walked to my personal spring. I stripped and jumped into the water. Rei just sat on the rocks watching me. When I had scrubbed I jumped from the water and dried off. I walked to my room in a towel and opened my wardrobe. I pulled out an icy blue kimono with black flowers on the hem. I pulled it on and brushed my hair, pulling it into a bun. Then I let Rei jump to my shoulder. He curled around my neck and I walked from my room. A maid met me outside my room.

"They are all in milord's study, milady." She bowed.

"Thank you Saya." I said to the familiar maid.

She bowed again and scurried off. I took fast strides as I walked towards Sesshomaru's study. When I reached the door a guard opened the door and bowed. I nodded in recognition and walked in. I was met by six pairs of eyes. I bowed my head and walked up to the cushion beside Sesshomaru. I sat and rested my hands on my lap looking everyone over. Sesshomaru sat next to me wearing his usual outfit. Miroku and Inuyasha sat directly across from us in their usual outfits too. Then Sango sat beside Miroku in a pink and purple kimono. Kikyo sat beside Inuyasha and wore a red kimono. Jaken stood beside Sesshomaru watching with a small frown. They were silent as they watched me.

"Where the hell were you?" Inuyasha asked suddenly.

"I went home. Then I went to see Kaede."

"But you were gone for days!" Inuyasha said.

"I haven't seen my family in two years I needed to visit them."

"Feh."

"So how long ago did you get here?" I asked.

"Five nights ago." Inuyasha growled.

"Any problems?"

"We were worried when we first got here Inuyasha and Lord Sesshomaru would fight." Miroku said.

"We arrived and Lord Sesshomaru met us in the courtyard. The two brothers studied one another. Then Inuyasha lunged at Lord Sesshomaru. Kirara, Miroku, Kikyo, and I all had to hold him back. We thought he still hated Lord Sesshomaru until he started to yell at Lord Sesshomaru about adopting you without him." Sango said.

I smiled.

"Well we finally got him to shut up. Lord Sesshomaru welcomed us and showed us to our guest rooms. It was late by then so we all retired for the night. Then in the morning some maids brought us breakfast. Then Shippo promptly ran off with Rin and Kirara followed them. Lord Sesshomaru and Inuyasha sat in here for most of the day talking and Miroku and I wandered around along with Kikyo. We spent the last few days doing the same thing as the first day, except Lord Sesshomaru did paper work, and Inuyasha wandered around deep in thought." Sango said.

I nodded.

"Inuyasha and I talked about his life." Sesshomaru said.

Everyone looked up at him.

"Inuyasha has agreed to stay here in the west occasionally travelling. He will be third in command. I thought about making him a general but I don't want my army destroyed in a week."

Inuyasha glared at him but he ignored it. We all hid grins.

"If you're in command and Inuyasha is third in command, who is second in command?" Miroku asked.

Sesshomaru looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Isn't that obvious?" He asked.

"He wouldn't be asking if it was." Inuyasha grumbled.

"Kagome is second in command." Sesshomaru said.

Everyone but Jaken and Inuyasha gaped.

"Oh." Miroku said suddenly making everyone sweat drop.

"So you like it here?" I asked.

They all nodded.

"So any plans?" I asked.

"Inuyasha is going to patrol the western borders to look for clues of Naraku and to learn the boundaries of the west. Kikyo plans to go with him." Sesshomaru said.

I nodded.

"What about you Sango, Miroku?"

"We haven't decided." Miroku said.

"I offered them positions in my castle but they said they needed to think of this." Sesshomaru said.

"We want to wait till Naraku is dead before we do anything." Sango said.

"We are going to get married after that though." Miroku said.

I clapped and smiled at the two who blushed.

"I also said to them that your kit, Shippo may stay here. He will be a good companion for Rin and I will train him." Sesshomaru said.

"Now it all depends on what you will do after we kill Naraku." Kikyo said.

Silence followed her words. I sighed after a minute.

"I will be pulled through the well." I said.

"How do you know?" Inuyasha asked.

"I just do." I said.

Actually Midoriko had told me. She had told me my place was in the future and I would be pulled back when my task was done. They all sighed sadly. Then Inuyasha stood with Kikyo.

"We are leaving for the border in the morning."

We all nodded as they walked out. Then Miroku and Sango stood. They bowed to us and walked out. That left Jaken, Sesshomaru, and me. Sesshomaru motioned to Jaken who also bowed and left. Then we sat a moment. Finally he sighed and turned to me.

"I know you will have to go back to your time but we will see each other again. I promise." He said.

I knew he could tell I was sad even though I hid my scent. I nodded hiding the tears.

"King Enma and his son Koenma will be here in exactly two days."

I nodded and smiled.

"It is Koenma's hundredth birthday is it not?" I asked.

The stoic lord sighed and nodded.

"Enma says he's very excited to see you."

I laughed. Over the last two years Koenma and Enma had come here a couple times. They were nice and I liked Konema who stayed with me every time he came here. I had already got a present for him. Then I pushed those thoughts aside and sighed. I stood along with Sesshomaru. Then Sesshomaru petted Rei, who was still on my shoulder.

"I see you have gotten a demon companion."

Rei nodded.

"His name is Rei. He's an ice cat."

Sesshomaru nodded.

"There is a book on cat youkai of this kind in the library."

I smiled and bowed, then skipped out the door. I headed to the library and grabbed the book Sesshomaru had mentioned. Then I went to my room where I undressed and slipped into a sleeping kimono. I slid under my covers and yawned. Rei cuddled up to me and I soon drifted off.

.--.

When I woke in the morning I pulled on the same Kimono I had worn the night before and grabbed the book I had got. I walked out of my room with Rei on my shoulder. I headed for my favourite garden. When I reached it I walked down the path till I reached a bench. The sun was just rising. I flipped the book open and started to read. By the time a maid had fetched me for breakfast I had learned quite a bit about Rei. I had learned he could make the temperature drop, fly, transform into a panther as large as a horse, and he could induce sleep. I sighed as I realized how Hiei had escaped. I thanked the maid and headed for the dinning room.

When I reached it I found Sesshomaru at the head, Inuyasha on his left, a place for me on his right, Jaken beside me, and Miroku beside Jaken with Sango next to him. Kirara sat on Sango's shoulder and eyed Rei. Kikyo sat next to Inuyasha with Rin beside her and Shippo beside Rin. I smiled and sat down. Rin and Shippo both jumped up and ran to me giving me hugs. They started to talk really fast about what they had done together these past days. I smiled and told them to sit. They obeyed and we started to eat. Eating was done mostly in silence.

When we were finished Shippo and Rin ran off again, Inuyasha and Kikyo left for the border, Jaken walked off to do what ever. Rei and Kirara also ran off with Shippo and Rin. Then Sango and Miroku walked off. Sesshomaru said he had paper work to do and I walked to the training grounds were I trained with the already training soldiers. I spent the day training. That night I had dinner in my room as I did a few tasks. Then when I was finished I scooped up a handful of the jewels Hiei had given me. I walked off to Sesshomaru's study where I knocked. I entered a moment later and walked up to Sesshomaru who sat at his desk.

"Yes?" He asked as I stepped up beside him.

"Will you tell me how much these are worth?"

I set five of the jewels down. He blinked and starred a moment.

"Where did you get those?" He asked quietly as he picked one up examining it.

"I ran into a forbidden child on my way here. I saved him and he gave me fifty of these along with a necklace containing at least another thirty."

He looked up at me.

"These jewels are rare and worth a lot."

I nodded.

"Keep them safe. A thief would love to have them." He said.

I nodded again. Then he perked up slightly. He stood and walked to a shelf. Sesshomaru's study had a desk in front of a large window over looking a garden, and all the wall space was occupied by large shelves that held papers, books, and stuff. He removed some papers and reached way back in the top shelf. His arm came out carrying a box. It was the size of a jewellery box and had demons and animals carved in it. He handed it to me.

"It has power in it and won't let anyone but its owner, open it."

"So then only you can open it?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"I never needed it so I am not its owner. You are now."

"Thank you."

I bowed and turned walking out. When I reached my room I grabbed the jewel necklace and put it in the box. I also added all the jewels. Then I stuck the jewel fragments in it deciding it was safe to do so. When that was finished I opened the door for Rei who had 'meowed' for me to let him in. Then I stripped and got ready for bed. Finally I slipped into my covers and fell asleep.

.--.

When I woke this time it was to Rei licking my face. I looked out my window to see it was a little after sun rise. I yawned and walked to my spring. I had a relaxing soak and scrubbed before I got out. I pulled a deep blue kimono like my eyes that had light blue ivy like leaves threading up the hem. I pulled my hair into a bun then walked to my room. I walked to my box and opened it. I pulled out a small but nice jewel and closed the box. Then I pulled a hair from my head. I had found out that demon hair was very strong. I held the jewel and hair in my hand and fused the two ends of the hair with my miko powers to make a loop. Then I somehow made the jewel fuse with the hair.

Then I grabbed it and an outfit I had been making. I wrapped them both up in some red cloth and tied it with a red ribbon. Rei jumped to my shoulder and I walked off to the dinning room for breakfast. Everyone was there like yesterday except Inuyasha and Kikyo. We ate in silence then Sesshomaru and I walked to the courtyard to wait for king Enma and Koenma. We stood for a little under ten minutes before king Enma and Koenma appeared. We bowed and they bowed back. Then Koenma flung himself at me. He still wore the little outfit and hat and had a soother in his mouth.

"Kagome!" He yelled. "Did you miss me? I missed you. It's good to see you."

I laughed softly and hugged him back.

"Yes I missed you."

King Enma smiled at me then him, and Sesshomaru led the way to the castle. I followed with Koenma and the package in my arm. Koenma saw it but didn't say anything as he chatted with me. When we reached the study Sesshomaru let us in. I sat next to Sesshomaru and Enma sat across from us. Koenma sat on my lap and Rei stayed on my shoulder. There was silence a moment.

"You know why I am here Sesshomaru." Enma said. "But does your sister?"

I blinked.

"No." Sesshomaru said.

"Then we should explain."

Enma cleared his throat and Koenma silenced.

"Kagome Taisho. We are going to set up another dimension. It would be for just demons. There would be a king who ruled the whole place and only he would be able to open a portal to this dimension when he wanted to and let only the people he wanted through. I would also be able to transport people. We have the power to do all this and hope to do it."

"And you agree Sesshomaru." I asked.

Sesshomaru nodded.

"He would most likely be the king of what we will call the Makai." Enma said.

"Will the other lords agree?" I asked.

"We have asked and the lords of the east and north agree and agree to let Sesshomaru be the king since he is the strongest and oldest Lord at the moment. South agrees about the dimension thing but would also like to be king. His power almost equals Sesshomaru's but he is younger. The two will most likely battle it out." Enma said.

I glanced at Sesshomaru who looked away. I sighed.

"I think it is a good idea."

"Good. We were hoping you could help contribute your miko powers too. If you added your miko powers then no demon could destroy the barrier between the worlds. And it would make it stronger.

I thought a moment.

"When will the barrier be put up?" I asked.

"Fifty years minimum two hundred years max." Enma said.

I sighed. I defiantly wouldn't be here that long. Then an idea popped into my head. Midoriko had taught me how to store my power in an item. I could do that and they could use it when I was gone.

"I will give you some power now."

Enma and Sesshomaru blinked.

"Do you have a crystal Sesshomaru or a glass or crystal orb?"

Sesshomaru thought a minute. Then he stood and walked to the door. He spoke to Jaken who stood guard and the imp trotted of. We waited two minutes before Jaken came back with a small white orb in his hand.

"It was made by a sorceress a hundred years ago." Sesshomaru said.

He handed it to me and returned to his seat. I looked it over. It was a solid crystal orb. I took a deep breath and started to let my miko powers flow into it. It started to glow a bit pink. I sat for over ten minutes letting my power flow into the crystal, slowly. When I had finished the orb held a lot of my power. I sighed and wiped some sweat from my brow. I was almost drained of my miko powers now. They would return but it would take a while. I handed the orb to Enma who took it gently.

"That is a lot of power." He whispered.

I nodded. Then he bowed his head to me.

"Well that's out of the way."

"Oh! Koenma I have a birthday present for you." I said.

"You remembered my birthday!" He shouted with glee.

I handed him the red package which he opened slowly. He gasped at the outfit but seemed most interested in the jewel. Enma starred at it a moment and Sesshomaru glanced at me. Then I helped Koenma put the jewel on.

"Kagome will you let Sesshomaru and I talk for a while?" Enma asked.

I nodded and stood with Koenma. I walked from the room and shut the door. I then walked towards the garden as Koenma looked at the jewel. When we reached the garden I sat on a bench.

"Koenma you have to promise me to look after the jewel. Okay?" I said.

Koenma nodded.

"I promise."

"It is very valuable."

Then I reached up and held it in my palm. I let the last bit of my miko powers flow into it. It shone pinkish-red then looked normal.

"The jewel will protect you." I said.

Koenma nodded solemnly. Then I saw Rin and Shippo running towards us. Koenma clapped and ran to meet them. The three ran off laughing. I walked to my room as I yawned. I had drained my miko powers which made me tired. Rei had run off with Konema. I flopped onto my bed and drifted off.

.--.

I woke to someone shaking me. I opened my eyes and peered at Jaken who was pushing with both his hands and scowling.

"Wake up woman!" He said.

I sighed and sat up making him loose balance and fall.

"What?" I asked.

"You have been asleep for three days." He huffed.

"Well I did use all my miko powers." I yawned.

"Well we need you to heal some one now. One of the guards who had gone with Inuyasha came back wounded. He is unconscious and we can't find out what happened."

I jumped up. I ran to my dresser and pulled out my blue shirt, pants, and sash. I ripped off my sleeping Kimono and pulled them on. When I turned around again I saw Jaken looking away respectfully. I then ran to my box and grabbed my jewel shards. I shot to the door and ran out. As I did Rei started to run beside me and jumped to my shoulder. I heard Jaken scramble to follow me. I sped down the halls towards the scent of blood. I burst into a room where a woman was trying to heal a tiger demon. Sesshomaru, Miroku, Sango, and Kirara all stood waiting. I rushed up and used my regained miko powers to heal the huge gash on his chest and wake him. He slowly sat up as we stood waiting. He saw Sesshomaru and scrambled to stand I held him down.

"Milord. Lord Inuyasha sent me to tell you that Naraku attacked. He killed the other five guards. Inuyasha and lady Kikyo sent me to fetch you."

"How long ago did you leave them?" Miroku asked.

"What time is it now?" He asked.

"Little after noon." Sango said quickly.

"I left them a little more then an hour ago." The man said.

"That means Inuyasha has been fighting for an hour!" Miroku said.

We all ran from the room leaving the man. As soon as we entered the courtyards Kirara enlarged and Miroku and Sango jumped on. They dragged Jaken on too. Sesshomaru took off, only a blur to everyone. I had a quick stop to make first. I ran to the training guards and snatched the best spear I could find from one of them. The gaped a moment but I was already gone. Everything blurred past me and Rei held onto my shoulder for dear life. His claws dug into my skin but I ignored it and kept going. I soon caught up to Kirara and her passengers. Sesshomaru was far ahead. I swept past them. They glanced at me once before I was gone.

I ran for only about ten minutes when I burst into a clearing. Sesshomaru was battling Kanna, Kagura, and Kohaku all at once, while Naraku was attacking a barrier that surrounded Kikyo and Inuyasha. I saw Inuyasha inside panting with a large bash on his shoulder. Kikyo was also panting and was using everything she had to keep the barrier up. I ran to Sesshomaru. I took his place fighting the three and sent him to Naraku. Naraku scowled at us and then we saw a huge horde of demons coming from the sky. I focused on the three. Just as the demons were almost on us a giant boomerang shot from the trees tearing many in half. And sutras flew from the hands of Miroku. Sango and Miroku were both on the ground now. Kirara tore the throats from her opponents. Jaken had stayed on Kirara and shot blasts of fire at the demons that Kirara missed. Rei growled as Kohaku leapt at me.

"Don't kill him." I whispered.

Rei nodded then jumped while transforming. I already felt the temperature drop as the panther knocked Kohaku back. I saw an opening in Kanna's guard and lunged. Her eyes widened as my blade swept for her throat. At the last second I pulled the blade back and knocked her hard over the head. She crumpled to the ground. I dodged a blast of wind blades and dived for Kagura. I realized she wasn't fighting with all she had. She was merely putting on a show for Naraku. I grinned at her once. Then I started to act like I was having a hard time beating the woman.

Finally I lunged in also knocking her from consciousness. Then I started to kill random demons that came at me. Rei had knocked Kohaku out and was doing the same as me. As the horde of demons thinned I saw Sesshomaru fighting Naraku. Inuyasha was attacking demons that came after him and Kikyo because Kikyo's barrier had failed and she was almost unconscious. I scowled and also lunged for Naraku. He saw me coming and shot a tentacle at me. I dodged and hacked with my spear. As soon as it hit the tentacle it snapped. I frowned. It had been a good weapon but to put so much strain on it had broke it. I cast the pieces aside and took a deep breathe.

I summoned my whip, like Sesshomaru's. The blue energy whip sliced through a tentacle easily. But the tentacle regrouped with Naraku a second later. I scowled. Sesshomaru had also been hacking at him with Tokijin but it wasn't working. I made my whip vanish and dodged another tentacle. I lashed out with my poison claws, melting a part of a tentacle. I saw now that most of the demons were gone and Sango and Miroku had joined us in attacking Naraku. Jaken, Kirara, and Rei were fighting the few other demons and keeping the three unconscious. I gasped as I saw a tentacle rip through Sesshomaru's side. He spit up some blood and jumped back.

I saw a slight sweat on his brow and he had dropped Tokijin, clutching his wound. I saw poison eating away at his skin. I rushed over to him and pulled him to the ground as a tentacle lashed out. I quickly stopped the poison in Sesshomaru's wound and stopped the bleeding but I couldn't waist anymore energy to do anything else. I then took another deep breathe and made a sword out of my miko powers. I stood in front of Sesshomaru and purified any tentacle that came after us with my sword. Sesshomaru stayed sitting on the ground grasping his side.

'Call the jewel.' A voice said in my head.

'Kean?' I asked.

'Yes.'

'I haven't heard from you in a while.'

'That doesn't matter. Now focus your powers and call the jewel. You are its guardian so it should come to you.'

I nodded. Then I stuck my miko sword in the ground. A barrier sprang up around Sesshomaru and me. I took a couple deep breaths and tried to calm down. Then I reached out with my miko powers to where I sensed the jewel. As if calling I beckoned with my powers. I felt the jewel pulse. Naraku froze for an instant. Suddenly the jewel ripped from his body and flew to me. He screamed and I felt his power level drop a lot. He growled and cursed. Then he started to attack Miroku and Sango again. The jewel in my hand, once black, purified till it glowed pink. I grasped it tight.

Then I made my barrier turn back into the sword. I still grasped the jewel but grabbed my sword with the other hand. I stood and then lunged at Naraku. He growled as I cut three tentacles off of him. This time they didn't fuse back to him. I smiled and continued hacking. Sango and Miroku also attacked in earnest. Then I saw an opening created by the two. I jumped in not thinking about anything else but killing Naraku. I felt my sword enter where Naraku's heart would be.

Everything stopped. Sango and Miroku gasped and jumped back. Sesshomaru's eyes widened. The two cats and the imp also stopped. Inuyasha was lying beside an unconscious Kikyo. I realized one of his tentacles had gone though my stomach while I had dealt my blow. Naraku's mouth hung open and he looked at the sword in his chest. I grinned evilly and released all my miko power, purifying Naraku past hell. It also purified the whole clearing. I made sure not to purify my allies though.

When the pink glow faded there were no demon bodies. All the grass that had been ripped up and the trees that had fallen were fresh and alive. A small breeze floated down blowing the taller grass. I healed the hole in my gut and looked over to the others. Those still conscious gaped at me. Then they sat down. Miroku and Sango held one another. I noticed the beads on Miroku's hand lying in the grass, his wind tunnel gone. Jaken sat in the tall grass by the small fire neko and the small ice cat. Inuyasha hugged a sleeping Kikyo to him and Sesshomaru slowly sat up.

I quickly walked over to him. I sighed. I had rested for three days to get my powers back and then I drained myself in a day. But then I smiled. Naraku was dead. I had the jewel and….I had to go home. My smile faded. I crouched by Sesshomaru and used some of the last of my miko powers to heal his entire wound. Then I ran to Inuyasha and Kikyo. I healed their wounds and took some of the exhaustion from them. Finally I walked to the three unconscious, former enemies. I walked to Kohaku first. I waved Sesshomaru over.

"Will you bring Kohaku back to life if I take the shard from his back?" I asked.

He nodded without hesitation. I smiled and reached down. I pulled the shard from Kohaku's back and his breath left him. Sesshomaru pulled Tensaiga out and slashed the air above Kohaku. Kohaku started to breathe again. Then he slowly sat up. He looked at us and gaped. He looked past us at Sango who was currently crying from shock and joy in to Miroku's chest. Kohaku stood and scrambled over to her. Miroku saw him and shook Sango. Sango looked up and starred. Then she burst into more tears and hugged her brother.

I smiled and moved to Kagura and Kanna. I used the last of my powers and woke them up, and healed the concussions I had given them. They slowly sat up and looked at us. Then Kagura did the last thing I expected. She burst into tears. Kanna tried to comfort her. Kagura kept mumbling 'I'm free. I have a heart. We're all free. He's gone.' Over and over. I smiled. I took a few steps back then turned and looked at everyone. Sango, Miroku, Kohaku, and Kirara all stay together crying, laughing, and talking. Inuyasha and Kikyo sat together hugging and whispering to one another. Sesshomaru had sat down and Jaken sat next to him. Rei sat on his shoulder. I held the almost complete jewel in one hand, Kohaku's shard in the other hand, and four shards hung at my neck. Two Koga had given to me years ago when he had told me he hadn't needed them anymore.

He would be sad to know he hadn't fought Naraku but he had grown smarter and threw away most thoughts of revenge when he had mated Ayame. I smiled. I added Kohaku's shard to the ones at my neck but kept the large chunk in my hand. I wouldn't fuse them yet. I would have to soon. But not yet. I felt a tear slide down my face. Another followed. I stood as a few silent tears rolled over my cheek. They were tears of my joy and sorrow. My joy at our win and at our years together. My sorrow that I would have to leave them. I would maybe see Inuyasha and Sesshomaru in the future but Miroku, Rin, Kikyo, and Sango would grow old and die long before I was even born. Life had some very unfair catches. Rei glanced over at me. He 'mewed' to Sesshomaru before he hopped to me. He transformed and caught me as I fell from exhaustion. I closed my eyes and cuddled into his fur. I would deal with all the problems later. Right now I needed to sleep, and I would. Let the problems wait.

Sesshomaru's POV:

Kagome crumpled from exhaustion and the ice cat caught her gently. She was instantly asleep. I walked over to the ice cat and looked down at my sister. I saw her clutching the almost complete jewel in her hand. I stroked her hair. Then I looked to the others. Inuyasha looked at me and saw that we should go home. He picked Kikyo up and walked over. Kirara transformed and the slayer and her brother scrambled on. Jaken scrambled to me. The monk walked over and sat on the ice cat behind Kagome holding her up. Kagura and Kanna looked a bit confused and then they turned away from us. I had known they had never wanted to work for Naraku. I strode over to them. They looked up at me from their places on the ground.

"You are welcome to come with us as long as you obey the rules."

They gaped at me a moment. Then I grabbed Jaken and rose into the sky. I glanced back once to see the two demons and their passengers following along with a fast hanyou. A second later a feather followed with two passengers. We all made our way back to my castle at a reasonable pace. When we reached my castle we descended to the ground. Servants came and got Miroku, Sango, Jaken, Kirara, Inuyasha, Kikyo, Kohaku, Rei, and Kagome leading them to their rooms, getting them food, and helping clean them up. Kagura and Kanna just looked around with wide eyes. I had told the servants to leave them. I walked up to them. They starred up at me.

"You may stay in the west as long as you obey me." I said.

They nodded vigorously to me. I motioned some servants' forwards and told them to set up the two in the guest wing. I sighed slightly. My sister would need to go home almost as soon as she woke up. I needed some rest but that could wait. I headed to my study were I pulled out a scroll and wrote everything, that needed to be packed and done, down. When that was finished I called three servants I trusted in. They bowed and I handed the list to them while saying my instructions. They bowed and set off. I yawned slightly and walked off to my room.

Kagome's POV:

I woke up slowly. I felt hungry and thirsty but other wise full of energy, well rested, and fine. I slowly sat up and blinked. I saw a platter of food and drink on my desk and walked over to it. I realized as I sat on my chair I still had the jewel clutched in my hand. I slowly set it on the table. I ate while I looked at it and while I sorted my thoughts. When the food was gone I stood and looked around. I blinked as I saw bundles stacked by the door. I wondered what was in them.

I also saw that one of the servants had changed me into a sleeping Kimono and left my blue kimono with the black flowers on it out. I took my sleeping kimono off and slipped the other one on. I picked up the jewel slowly and clutched it in my hand. I had to fuse it. I had to. I couldn't keep it in pieces. I sighed and took the pieces from my neck and the large chunk. I held them in the same hand. A pink light burst from my hands making me close my eyes. When I reopened them the whole jewel sat in my hand. Suddenly I pulsed.

'You have twenty four hours to jump in the well or you will be pulled back to your time from where you are and if that happens it will be painful because you are not following the 'rules'.' Kean said.

I pinched my lips together and set off to fin the others. As soon as I stepped from my room a servant directed me to Sesshomaru's study. I quickly walked not wanting to waist anymore time. As soon as I arrived I walked in. Kagura, Kanna, Kohaku, Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha, Kikyo, Kirara, Rei, Rin, Shippo, Jaken, and Sesshomaru all sat waiting. As I walked in they all looked up and bowed, except for Sesshomaru. I nodded my head and sat beside Sesshomaru.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"Two days." Inuyasha said.

I nodded.

"How long do you have here?" Kikyo asked.

"Twenty-four hours exactly." I said.

They all looked crestfallen except for Sesshomaru who seemed blank, Kagura and Kanna who didn't understand, and Jaken who looked happy. Sesshomaru glared at Jaken who got a look of sorrow on his face. I could tell it was faked though. We sat in silence a minute.

"I have had a servant pack all your things." Sesshomaru said.

I nodded as I remembered all the things packed by my door.

"Will you leave now?" Sango asked.

I shook my head. There was silence for a few minutes.

"Kagura and Kanna have decided to stay in the west and serve Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and I will also stay here, Shippo will stay and train under Sesshomaru, and Sango, Miroku, and Kohaku will also stay here." Kikyo said.

"Kikyo has agreed to be my mate." Inuyasha said.

I smiled at him and Kikyo.

"And Sango and I are going to get married." Miroku said.

"I wish I could be here for the wedding." I said.

They nodded.

"I will take care of them." Sesshomaru said.

I looked at him gratefully. We sat in another moment of silence.

"You know what is ironic?" I asked.

They all looked at me.

"When I first came here all I wanted to do was go home, now I'm going home and all I want to do is stay here."

They all smiled slightly.

"Today is my nineteenth birthday. I fell down the well exactly four years ago.

They all blinked.

"We almost forgot." Sango said.

I smiled softly. Shippo started to cry. I opened my arms and he jumped in.

"I need to be alone with Shippo for a while." I said.

Everyone nodded. I stood and walked out the door. As soon as I was out I headed for a garden. As I stepped in I looked into the clear sky. I headed down the trail to the bench. I sat down, still holding Shippo. He was sobbing while clutching me.

"I don't want you to leave." He sobbed.

"I have to Shippo. Listen to me a moment."

He quieted and looked up at me.

"You will stay here with Sesshomaru and he will train you. You have to look after Rin for me okay?"

He nodded.

"You can get really strong and then I will see you in the future."

He sniffed and nodded again. I looked over and saw Rin standing at the end path looking sad. I smiled and motioned her over. She sprinted to me and wrapped her arms around my waist. She cuddled her face into my lap.

"I will always love you two."

They both nodded.

"You have to look after one another."

They nodded and looked at me.

"Why don't you go play until I call you? It'll cheer you up."

They nodded. Shippo jumped to Rin's shoulder and they trotted off. I stood and watched till they were out of sight then I walked off to find Sesshomaru. I found him still in his study, but alone. I walked in and waited a moment.

"Yes?" He asked.

"I plan to leave before dinner."

He looked at me a moment. Then he nodded. I didn't wish to travel early in the morning or at night so I had come to this decision. Also the longer I stayed the more depressed everyone would get. I walked up to Sesshomaru and wrapped my arms around him burying my face into his chest. He slowly wrapped his arms around me pulling me close. After a minute I pulled back and turned away. I walked out the door without looking back. As soon as I was out of the room I walked towards my favourite garden. When I reached it I walked to a cherry blossom tree and jumped up to the tree. I masked my presence and scent. I watched as the children ran under me a couple times, as the birds darted around, and as the breeze made all the flowers sway. I just sat there watching the activities that happened in the garden without moving. I don't know how long I sat there but an hour before dinner Sesshomaru walked up to the tree and looked up at me.

"The girls wonder where you are. They want you to join them in the springs."

I nodded and gently fell from the tree. I hit the ground softly and walked off towards the springs. As I entered I heard the voices of four women. I stripped and folded my clothes nicely. Then I walked in. The four women had there backs to me and didn't seem to notice I had entered. I walked over and slid into the water beside Kagura. She looked over at me and screeched before jumping back into the others starting the domino effect. When they all sat back up wiping water from their faces and gasping for air they looked at me.

"Holy Hell! Don't do that you scared the life out of me." Kagura gasped.

"Nh." I said.

I dived under the water and swam around for a minute. When I returned to the others they all watched me.

"Everything okay Kagome?" Sango asked calmly.

I looked up.

"Nh."

"You look completely empty of emotion and you aren't answering with real words." Kikyo said.

"She feels sorrow at the moment." Kanna's ghostly voice said.

I looked at the girl.

"Nh."

The others watched me a moment then they burst into chatter trying to take my mind away from leaving. I could smell their sorrow also. We sat and talked while bathing for about half an hour. Well they did most of the talking. I nodded, shook my head or nh'ed. When we finally got out we had half an hour till dinner. I planned to leave before that. I walked out of the spring and headed to my room. Rei was there along with Sesshomaru. I saw that my pile of things by the door had grown larger. I blinked then looked to Sesshomaru.

"That is more then just my stuff."

"I had some extra things packed that you can't see till you get to your time."

I sighed.

"I will send A-un with you. He will carry the bundles for you."

I nodded. A couple servants came in and hauled some stuff out towards the courtyard. I looked at Sesshomaru who walked from the room. Rei jumped to my shoulder and nudged my cheek comfortingly. I also nudged him back and he purred. I pet him softly and sighed. Then I grabbed one of the bags I was going to carry and threw it on my back. Then I grabbed a second bag and walked off. When I reached the courtyard everyone was waiting. I walked up to Inuyasha and Kikyo who stood together. I rested my hands on Inuyasha's shoulders and kissed each of his cheeks before giving him a hug. He hugged me back hard. I just gave Kikyo a hug.

"I hope you live happy lives together and Inuyasha you had better live to see me again."

Then I reached into my bag and pulled out a smaller bag of ramen.

"This'll have to satisfy you till they invent it."

He nodded. I walked towards Miroku and Sango who also stood together. I gave each of them a hug. Then I reached into my bag again. I pulled out a box with two gold rings.

"In my time it is custom to wear matching rings as a sign of your marriage."

They nodded and Miroku took the rings. Sango was crying now. I hugged her again.

"I wish I knew I could see you again. I hope you live happy lives together."

She almost strangled me with her hug. When she let me go she latched onto Miroku crying into him. I walked towards Kanna and Kagura.

"You two were my enemies for a long time but I hope to see you again."

They nodded. I walked to Kohaku.

"I haven't known you long but I want you to do me a favour and look after your sister for me."

He nodded. I smiled and walked to Rin and Shippo and Kirara. They all looked up at me.

"Kirara I need you to look after your mistress and her family. And Shippo you must protect Rin and train hard. Rin you have to be happy and good for Jaken and Sesshomaru."

They all nodded and gave me large hugs. I also pulled their toys and sweets form my bag handing them to them. Next I walked to Jaken. We looked at one another.

"Well Jaken we were never the best of friends but I hope you live so we may see one another again. And look after Sesshomaru and Rin. They needed to be protected."

Jaken puffed out his chest and gave me an even look. By the time I walked to Sesshomaru A-un had my bags on him and everyone had found somewhere else to look. All my friends seemed interested in the flowers while sorrow was written on their faces, the servants had vanished, and the guards on the wall seemed to see interesting things on the other side of the wall. I hugged Sesshomaru tight.

"Thank you for everything. You had better live to see me again or I will personally make the well bring me back to I can beat you, hard, with some sort of heavy object." I smiled.

"If you do not get word from me after two months of returning then Inuyasha, Jaken, and I have not lived. But I will try my best to see you again, little sister."

I smiled up at him. He even gave me a real smile too. I turned and walked to A-un. I climbed up to the saddle and sat down. I was still a bit tired and wasn't the best at flying so I decided this was faster. A-un leapt into the sky and I turned and waved to everyone. I saw tears roll down Inuyasha's face. Kikyo had a few tears, Sango was sobbing along with Shippo and Rin. Miroku hid his tears and Kohaku, Kagura, and Kanna just watched me go with blank faces. Even Jaken looked a bit sad. I saw no tears from Sesshomaru but I saw sorrow in his eyes. I smiled a don't-worry smile and turned back forwards. I sniffed and grabbed A-un's mane.

After an hour, of fast flying, A-un started to descend. He touched down in the clearing near the well and I slid off his back. I pulled all my packages off of A-un's back and set them by the well. Then I walked up to A-un and hugged his one head. He nuzzled me and tried to comfort me. I let go with one arm and hugged the other head.

"You guys look after everyone okay."

They growled in response. Then Rei who was being smothered by their mane growled. I smiled and pet him softly. Then I walked to the well. I threw some bags gently into the well. Then I grabbed the rest and jumped in. All the bags fell into the blue glow with me. When I touched the ground the blue stayed a moment. Then it seemed to shatter like it had been glass. I felt the well with my powers and knew it was once again a normal well. I sniffed and jumped from the well with some bags.

When all the bags were out of the well I wiped my tear away. I wove my scent and sound barrier around me, masked my miko powers, and hid my demon aurora. Then I opened the well door. I walked to the house and stepped inside. No one was home so I just dumped my bags in my room. I grabbed the other bags and did the same. Then I started to open the bags. I found my kimonos, fighting clothes, and other clothes articles in one bag. I carefully put them in my closet.

Then I opened the second bag to find my jewellery box containing my jewels from Hiei, and a second jewellery box containing necklaces, bracelets, and earrings that had a note that said from Sesshomaru. I opened the next three packages to find weapons of almost every kind. There was a note that said from the guards. I also found cakes and baking items in another package from the servants and cooks. I opened a fifth package to find herbs and seeds from the healers and gardeners. Another one held scrolls and books from the scholars.

And finally I opened a package with sutras from Miroku, a bow from Kikyo, a bunch of youkai exterminator armour from Sango, a top from Shippo, some dried flower petals from Rin, a staff with two head from Jaken –like his but taller-, and finally a sword from Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. A note told me it was made from a fang of each of theirs and made by Totosi. It could block any weapon, and had an ice attack of some sort. I sobbed softly as I looked over the gifts. There was note. All it said was 'We love you. Oh and Happy Birthday!' I let the tears go then. They poured over my face as I sobbed into my hands. After a few minutes I finally stood and put everything away. Then I walked downstairs and waited for my family to return for dinner.

.--.

It had been a month and a half since I had returned and there was no word from Sesshomaru or them. I had spent the days reading, training, gardening, cleaning, and cooking. Rei was always with me and we grew to cherish one another. Hojo had showed up once when my family was out and had tried to get me to agree to be his girlfriend, forcefully. I had pushed him down the shrine stairs. He had lived, unfortunately, but hadn't bothered me since.

I had also redone my room changing it from ugly pink to deep blue. I kept my barriers up all the time and had also kept my demon features hidden. I had also had enough time and power to set up different barriers all over the shrine. Some to keep evil low level demons out, some to keep those tainted out, and some to warn me when people entered the shrine. I had also started an herb garden planting herbs from the feudal era in it. I got my mom to drive me to the country side and grabbed some from forests and such. I hadn't seen any demons around but I didn't leave the shrine that much.

My friends had visited once and I had told them to get lost and not to visit anymore. They had been furious but I didn't care. My grandfather was very happy that I practice my miko powers and planned to take the shrine over from him. It also helped him a lot that I now looked after the shrine. Souta and mom were just glad I was back. Souta thought it was awesome to have a demon for a sister and watched me train every spare moment he had. I had even started to teach him hand to hand combat which killed time for both of us. As the days wore on I got more and more anxious. Finally it had been exactly a month and three weeks when a raven demon flew from a portal and straight for me during one of my training sessions.

"His majesty Sesshomaru gives his deepest regrets that he could not come himself to greet you but he is quite busy." The raven said.

It dropped a large envelope into my hands and tore back into the portal that vanished with a 'pop'. I set my weapons aside and sat in the sacred tree. I tore the envelope open and pulled the note out.

_Dear sister_

_I am sorry that this could not reach you sooner and that I could not bring word myself. As you must have realized the dimension was set up and all the demons were transported to the 'Makai'. I easily beat the lord of the South about four hundred years ago. I took role as king of the Makai. It is a nice job and I get the respect I deserve. Some demons do remain in the human world but are under as close as watch as we can keep on them. I wish to tell you that Inuyasha, Kikyo, Rin, Shippo, Jaken, Kagura, Kanna, A-un, and I are all well. Yes Rin and Kikyo are still alive too. I adopted Rin as my daughter like I adopted you. This actually hadn't been done before and we had wondered what the side affects would be. Well Rin is a Kitsune now. I wondered why she wasn't and inu but you weren't either so I didn't worry. When Inuyasha claimed Kikyo, she too turned into a half demon. Rin mated with Shippo and they are happy together too. Sango and Miroku lived a long life together and had six children. They served me well and were treated with high respect. They missed you a lot. Kohaku also was treated with high respect and married a woman from a village he moved to. Kagura and Kanna are loyal vassals and help me quite a bit help with there mirror and wind. I also have not chosen a mate. Do not scowl._

I had been scowling. I snorted softly.

_I will come to get you soon but first I thought you should enjoy some time in the mortal world with your family. We will talk more when you get here. And I wish you to know I named you as my heir. You are the princess of the Makai. I have made the announcement public but no one knows your face only your name, not your family name Higurashi though. Inuyasha should have been the rightful heir but he refused the position saying he would destroy the place in a week if he ran it. I agreed. Now in the envelope are some things for you. Keep them with you. I hope to see you in the future. I will try to send letters regularly but I always have problems that need my attention or I have paper work. So bye for now little sister._

_Sincerely, Sesshomaru, king of the Makai._

I folded the letter and set it on my lap. I reached into the envelope and pulled out the remaining papers. One was a graduation form saying I had graduated from high school and university. I sighed in relief. I couldn't work in town any where nice or do anything with out these forms because everyone would think I had failed high school. I had been taught past a university level, in some areas, at Sesshomaru's so it wasn't like I had been given the papers and didn't deserve them. I looked at the next paper to see that they were balances for my new bank account. I gaped. Sesshomaru had given me a lot of money. I laughed slightly. He was a king and former lord, he was very rich. The balance sheet also came with a bank card.

I set theses down and looked over another sheet. It was the papers that said Kagome Higurashi's last name had been changed to Taisho. I smiled and set those aside. The next papers were deeds to the shrine saying I now owned the shrine not the city. I set these down gently and looked at the last sheet. It was instructions on how to contact Sesshomaru. It also came with a small silver bracelet that held a blue crystal. It could open a portal that could take me anywhere. I set this down and looked at the last paper. It was a copy of a document that named me as Sesshomaru Taisho's heir.

I smiled and gathered the papers up. I slid the bank card into my pocket and the bracelet on my wrist. I laughed slightly as I clasped the bracelet on. I was getting more jewellery by the minute. I had the bracelet, the necklace with the one jewel from Hiei, and the Shikon no Tama on another necklace. I felt awkward wearing two necklaces that didn't match well but I didn't want to let either out of my sight. And I also wore two rings; one on each hand. They were special rings that I had changed with my miko powers. They looked like regular white gold rings with small sapphires on each one.

But I had found a nifty trick with my miko powers. I could store weapons in jewels. I had stored the staff Jaken had got me in one sapphire and a giant double sided axe from the guard general of Sesshomaru's in my other sapphire. And I had stored the sword Inuyasha and Sesshomaru had given me, which I had named 'Karai' –storm- in the jewel Hiei had given me. It didn't change or damage the jewels so it was a useful hiding place. I usually had daggers hidden on my body at all times too, even when I slept.

I leapt from the tree and grabbed the spear I had been training with. Rei who had waited for me at the base of the tree jumped to my shoulder. I walked inside and up to my room. I set my spear on the wall by my other weapons which hung from the wall. Then I grabbed a basket of small cakes and cookies I had made. I set a cloth on top of them and set picked herbs on top of the cloth. I slid a small lid on the basket and walked down stairs. I picked up the phone and dialled a number I hadn't in four years. I waited as the phone rung a moment. Then I heard a click.

'Hello, Genkai's residents.'

"Hello Genkai." I said.

'Kagome?' The old woman asked.

"Yes, it's me."

'I haven't heard from you in four years.' She said.

"I know." I sighed. "I got a disease that destroyed my immune system. Then I caught every disease in Japan. I moved out of the country for the past four years while I recovered."

'Oh, are you feeling better?'

"Oh yes. I am ready to run around the world." I giggled.

'Mmh.'

"Well I baked some cookies and I have some herbs you might like. I was wondering if I could come over."

'Of course! You are always welcome and do not need my permission to come over.'

"Thanks! I'll be there in a couple minutes."

'Okay.'

"Bye!"

'Bye.'

I hung up and grinned as I skipped out the door, heading for Genkai's shrine.

Genkai's POV:

I smiled as I hung up the phone. I had missed Kagome and had hoped to see her again. I returned to the sitting room and sat beside Yukina. Kurama sat across from us with Kuwabara beside him. Yusuke was pacing and Hiei hadn't shown up yet. Botan had gathered us and told us that something big had happened and that she would come tell us when Konema had given her permission but that we had to wait here till then. Yusuke finally fell to the ground and grabbed a can of coke from the table. Kurama and Yukina sat drinking tea quietly and Kuwabara and Yusuke downed coke while fidgeting.

"So who was that on the phone old bat?" Yusuke asked.

"It was a friend of mine. She will be coming over."

"What if Botan opens a portal while she's here?" Yusuke asked.

"Botan can erase that part of her memory then but I haven't seen this person in four years and I have been hoping to see her so I'm not about to tell her she can't come over."

"Why is she coming over?"

"She has some baking for me and she has some herbs for me."

Kurama perked up at this.

"She knows plants?" He asked.

"Yes. She could identify any plant or herb you show her, at least from around here."

"You taught her?" Kurama asked.

"Yes. She came over here with her father when she was really young, Then when her father died she continued to visit me. She was the only person to ever visit me. I taught her about all herb lore I myself knew. I also taught her how to take care of plants and how to cook. We got along well."

"So she isn't an old bat like you?" Yusuke asked.

"No. She should be about nineteen."

"Is she pretty?" Yusuke asked.

"I haven't seen her in four years but last time I saw her she was pretty."

I drank some tea and it seemed everyone was out of questions. We sat drinking tea and talking about common things for about five minutes when I heard someone call me.

"Genkai?" A female called.

"In here." I called.

A nineteen year old girl with a cat on her shoulder walked in. Everyone froze and looked at her. She had long ebony hair to her waist, blue eyes with gold flecks, and curves in the right places. She was really beautiful. I could have sworn Kagome had had brown eyes though. I shook my head.

"Hello Kagome."

She looked at me and bowed her head. Then she almost dropped her basket as she gaped at my guests.

"YOU!" Yusuke and her yelled at the same time pointing at one another.

Then she looked at Kurama.

"Oh you too?" She asked.

Kurama seemed surprised to see her too.

"How do you know my cousin?" Yusuke asked Kurama.

"YOUR COUSIN!?" Kuwabara, Kurama, Yukina, and I yelled

"Yeah! Kagome is my cousin; her dad, in my mom's brother." Yusuke said.

He jumped up and gave Kagome a hug.

"I heard you were sick." He said.

"And I heard you were dead." She said.

"Nope, just got knocked into a coma." Yusuke grinned.

Then he turned back to Kurama.

"How do you know her?" He asked.

"He helped me escape from a forceful guy." Kagome said.

"Some one tried to force you to do something! Show me and I'll beat to a pulp!" Yusuke yelled.

"Don't worry. I already threw him down our shrine stairs." Kagome said.

Yusuke calmed and sat back down again.

"So how do you know Genkai?" Kagome asked Yusuke.

"I met her a while ago." Was all he said.

Kagome's POV:

I watched him a moment. I hadn't expected to see my cousin. As I analyzed him I found huge amounts of spiritual power in him. And he had been trained. Kuwabara also had spiritual powers. Kurama had a Kitsune spirit in his body too. I wondered why I hadn't noticed with the two I had met a while back. I guessed I had been busy. The girl by Genkai was also an ice maiden. I looked at Genkai too. She had spiritual powers in her too.

They seemed to be waiting for some one and they looked like they had known each other for a while. They all blinked at Rei who they could probably know was a demon, but they didn't say anything. I smiled and set my basket on the table. I pulled out the herbs and handed them to Genkai and set the cookies and cakes on the table. Yusuke and Kuwabara immediately took two. Kurama and Yukina took one politely. They ate and Genkai looked over the herbs.

"I thought some of these were extinct." She whispered looking over some.

"I found some in the forest by our shrine." I said blandly.

"Where did you get the cat?" Yusuke interrupted.

"Some guys were killing it so I saved him. He is very loyal." I said patting his head.

I saw that they were running low on tea. I smiled and grabbed the pot.

"I'll go grab more tea."

As I walked out the door Rei jumped from my shoulder and rubbed against Yukina, purring.


	16. Black Inu Part 3

Yusuke's POV:

As soon as Kagome was gone we turned to that cat. We could all sense the demon aurora from it.

"Here kitty, kitty." Kuwabara said.

The cat sniffed at him and rubbed against Yukina again.

"We can't let Kagome keep that demon cat." I said trying to grab the cat.

It jumped back. I lunged again but it kept dodging me easily while seeming to wear a smirk.

"If it hasn't done anything yet then it probably won't." Genkai said. "Besides if you kill it or take it, Kagome will get mad. If you're her cousin you have to know how frightening she gets when mad or how attached she can get to an animal."

I immediately stopped chasing the demon cat. It returned to Yukina quickly.

"I still can't believe some one as intelligent as Kagome is related to _you_." Genkai said sipping at her tea.

I glared at her. She glanced at the cat again.

"I think the cat is an ice cat." Kurama said. "They are really rare. They are cats that can stay small like a house cat but transform into a large cat the size of a horse."

"If it were an ice cat that would explain why it likes Yukina since she is also related to ice." Genkai said.

"Maybe if the cat gets attached to Yukina, Kagome will let it stay with her, and Genkai can keep an eye on it." Kurama suggested.

The cat stopped rubbing against Yukina and stepped away glaring at all of us with its unreal icy blue eyes.

"It doesn't seem to like the idea." Kuwabara said.

He was looking at the cat with longing. He loved cats and seemed to want to scoop this one up and hug it to death. As if that cat sensed his fantasy it turned and hissed at him. I laughed as Kuwabara tried to glare at the cat. Suddenly a blue portal opened up out of nowhere. Botan hoped out and looked at us and starred at the cat. She opened her mouth but we stopped her.

"My cousin is here, so don't say anything with her near and the cat… we're dealing with." I said.

Botan blinked then slowly nodded. When we didn't sense Kagome near Botan started to speak quietly.

"We wish to inform you that another dark tournament has been announced." Botan said.

We all looked at her quickly.

"The king of the Makai is sponsoring it and has invited you."

We all nodded slowly.

"There need to be five on your team and your coach may not count as a member since she will be a spare."

I growled.

"There is Kurama, Kuwabara, Hiei, and me. Hiei might not even want to join. I guess we don't need to enter…"

"Yes you do."

We all looked at Botan.

"Any who do not enter will be threatened till they agree to enter or they will be killed for refusing."

Everyone winced.

"Well you need to find another member quick. A demon will be here to check whether or not you will join. It will also take your names. If you do not have enough players it will assign you one." Botan said quickly.

"When will the demon get here?" I asked as quickly as she had talked.

"I don't know. It could be here in a minute or in a week. Now the tournament will be on Hangman's island. It will start in two weeks. I know you haven't had warning but no one did."

We all sighed and growled in frustration. Suddenly another portal opened and a tiger demon stepped out grinning.

"I am here to register your team for the dark tournament."

Everyone panied, some mentally and many outright.

Kagome's POV:

I listened to the whole conversation between the grim reaper girl and Yusuke and them. I smiled to myself. It seemed Yusuke had been having an interesting time since I had last seen him. I saw them panic when the tiger demon stepped in.

"Well Genkai is our coach and Kuwabara, Yusuke, Hiei, and I will be on a team." Kurama said not loosing his entire cool.

"And your last member?" The demon asked.

They all winced slightly.

"We will arrange for one then if you don't come up with anyone in the next minute."

His grin promised a weak person or one who would slit their throats in their sleep.

"Well…" Yusuke asked.

I stepped out from around the corner. They all blinked at me. I put on my blank mask.

"I will be there last member."

The tiger demon looked slightly disappointed but slowly got his pen positioned to write my name on his paper. Everyone else was either gaping or starring at me in shock.

"Name?" The demon asked.

I walked up to him.

"Kagome Taisho." I whispered to him.

His eyes widened at my last name. He went to bow but I stopped him.

"Do not bow. They do not know who I am yet."

He scowled.

"You are heir to the Makai they should respect you." He growled.

"They will in the future. Please write that when at the tournament I do not wish my last name to be revealed. And could you tell Sesshomaru I will be entering?"

He nodded. He scribbled more stuff down then stepped back through his portal. I turned to the others still wearing my mask of emptiness.

"Now another person knows of demons." The one named Botan sighed.

"I knew of them long before this." I said bluntly.

She seemed to sigh in relief.

"YOU ARE NOT ENTERING THIS TOURNAMENT!" Yusuke yelled.

I sniffed.

"Yes I am."

"NO! I WILL NOT LET MY WEAK COUSIN COMPETE!"

I wanted to beat some sense into him but remained still. I still felt angry, though, at the weak part.

"Yes. I am entering." I said.

"Genkai, Kurama, help me out!" Yusuke said.

"I agree with Yusuke Kagome. You know nothing of fighting and you are allowed to kill in this tournament. We don't want you to die because we can't protect you."

I stiffened more trying to rein my anger in.

"Kagome you are an ordinary human. I'm afraid I'm with Yusuke and will not let you enter this tournament. We won't be able to protect you." Kurama said.

"Yeah we can't let a woman fight it goes against the code." Kuwabara said.

"Besides this has nothing to do with you. It would be better if you went home and forgot about this." Botan said nodding.

I was now rigid with fury.

'How dare they say that!?' Kean snarled. 'You are anything but weak!'

'They should show me respect not insolence!' I added. 'They are all pathetic humans! And I do not always need to be protected!'

Kean was fighting to take control. It took all my will power to keep her back. Rei was also growling all his hair on end. He stepped up beside me. Everyone seemed to see how angry I was, now. I looked at the ground as I felt my eyes start to bleed red.

Kurama's POV:

"Use your common sense Kagome. You can't enter a tournament where you could get killed. Leave it to us. You can just go home and bake or garden. It's what you are good at while we're good at fighting. You were never a strong fighter physically or emotionally so we don't want you to enter." Yusuke said.

Kagome shook slightly. We waited for her to respond. Then she looked up. As soon as Kagome looked up I froze. Her eyes were flashing from blue to red. Everyone seemed shocked. I slowly stood.

"You guys step back slowly." I said quietly.

They all looked at me.

"Only a powerful demon's eyes can do that and only when they are extremely angry. If her eyes turn completely red it means her demon has taken over and she will not hesitate to kill us. And believe me; she will be able to kill us if she wants."

I said keeping my voice low. They all gulped.

"But Kagome is human." Yusuke said.

Suddenly we all saw a barrier around her shatter. Black wolf ears, a blue crescent moon on her forehead, blue stripes on her cheeks, materialized and an out of this world aurora radiated off of her. If Genkai didn't have barriers around her shrine every demon with in a hundred kilometres would have felt her power.

"Oh Shit." Yusuke cursed.

Yukina was shaking uncontrollably now, her eyes wide. It would be hard for her to stand the aurora since she was a weaker demon. Genkai sensed this and grabbed her shoulder shielding the ice maiden with some of her spiritual powers. Youko was cowering in my mind.

"You see the stripes on her face? Those means she is a demon of noble blood. She is either related to the king of the Makai or one of the old lords. And the crescent moon means the same thing." I said.

Suddenly Kagome's eyes stopped flashing and just turned red. Her claws grew and her fangs also grew. Her stripes became a bit jagged and blood lust and anger radiated off of her.

"YOU PATHETIC HUMANS WILL PAY FOR BEING SO DISRESPECTFUL TO ME!" She growled. "HOW DARE YOU ASSUME I AM WEAK AND IN NEED OF PROTECTION!?"

The cat beside her growled too. Suddenly in a flurry of snow it transformed into a large panther that had huge fangs. Kagome spread her feet ready to attack and lifted her claws which glowed green with poison. She lunged at us and we all jumped back. Her claws melted the floor where Kuwabara had been. We all gaped. She looked up at us and growled. She lunged at the closest person who happened to be me. I dodged her claws, just barely, as the poison swept past me. I felt the front of my uniform burn a bit. I had to use my demon speed to get away from a kick she aimed at me. And even after I tried to jump away, her foot connected with my chest.

My eyes widened as I was thrown back into the table. I hit it full force, snapping the table and landing in the rubble. I tried hard to get my breath back but it was hard with a couple broken ribs. Kagome dismissed me and looked to her cousin. She was no longer growling in rage but grinning in excitement. She lunged at him. He spread his spiritual powers through his body and caught her kick. Then he jumped back. Kuwabara had come to help Yusuke and was thrown back hitting a wall hard. The ice cat was keeping Botan from helping and was partly keeping the innocent Yukina safe.

"Sorry about this Kagome." Yusuke said.

He fired a ray gun that would hurt her, but not kill her. Kagome was pushed back a bit but as soon as the power disappeared Kagome stood up straight. Her shirt hadn't even been singed. We all now saw that her clothes were layer with spiritual power and were as strong as armour. We briefly wondered where she had got the clothes but it wasn't the time to think about that. We all gaped at her a moment as she grinned again, and didn't even seemed fazed by the blow.

"We need to calm her down. If she stays this angry she will transform and you don't want to see her like that. She'll be bigger then this house." I said breathlessly.

Kagome's power was slowly rising. Yukina was on the verge of tears. Genkai was doing her best to keep the barrier around the two. Botan jumped beside Genkai and tried to help. I looked at Yusuke and he seemed to see what he had to do. He slowly stepped towards Kagome who grinned and got ready. Yusuke fell to his knees and bowed, his head touching the floor.

"We are sorry Kagome. We meant no disrespect. We did not know you were this strong. It was a mistake. Please stop."

The cat seemed to calm a bit and Kagome's power stopped growing. She still growled and her eyes stayed red. Genkai stepped forwards and bowed too. The same with Kuwabara and I, once we got up. Kagome's power suddenly disappeared behind another barrier and her eyes turned back to their normal color. But her demon features stayed shown. She took some deep breathes. Her cat changed back to the small one. Yukina started to calm and everyone sighed in relief.

"Where the hell did you get those powers and how the hell did you become a demon?" Yusuke asked.

Kagome looked at him anger and the excitement of killing, still written on her face.

"Not the best time to ask questions." Genkai hissed at her student.

He quickly nodded and sat by the table. Suddenly Hiei burst into the room his sword drawn. When he saw no threat he walked to Yukina and kneeled beside her. He tried to comfort her. We all knew she was Hiei's sister now. He had told us right after his growth spurt. I smiled slightly at the thought. After the last tournament Hiei had started to grow. He said he was due for a growth spurt. Now he was as tall as me. He was actually taller then Kuwabara. Kuwabara was ticked at that. I noticed Kagome looked at Hiei with a curious expression. I watched her a moment.

-She should so be our mate- Youko said.

I choked on some air.

. up Youko.--.

-No. She is strong, beautiful and intelligent. And I like her more by the second-

I ignored Youko as he rambled on. When Yukina was finally calm Hiei looked up.

"What hap…"

He froze in mid-sentence. He starred at Kagome with wide eyes. She smiled at him. She was still standing a little ways from the table. Kagome grabbed a necklace that had a red drop that almost looked black on it, from around her neck and started to play with it. Hiei starred another minute. Then he slowly stood. We had never seen show emotion before. But now he showed slight surprise and joy. Even if it was only a wisp of it, it still surprised us. He walked slowly over to Kagome. Then he bowed and stayed bowed. Now we all starred wide-eyed or in Kuwabara and Yusuke's case, gaping with their jaws on the ground.

"Lady Kagome." Hiei breathed.

"Hiei you remember me." She laughed.

"I would never forget you milady."

I was now gaping openly. I had never heard Hiei speak with such respect or use a title. Not even to the prince of the underworld. Kagome walked up to Hiei and rested a finger on his chin and pulled him up. They looked into one another's eyes a moment.

"It seems you have grown." She laughed.

He blushed slightly and only my eye sight caught it. I gaped more.

"I have been trying to find you. But I couldn't, it was like you vanished." Hiei said.

"I didn't think you would keep that promise." She said.

"I swore in our blood." He said.

"You have been looking for me all this time?" She asked tilting her head.

"Yes. I trained and got strong. Then I set off to find you but could find no trace. I am sorry it took so long."

Now we all gaped. No one in the room had heard him speak that much.

"What has it been? A couple hundred years?" Kagome asked

"I have been looking for you for four hundred and seventy years, ten months, three weeks, and two days." Hiei said.

Kagome laughed while we gaped still.

"Hiei you should have given up."

"No."

She smiled. Then she wrapped her arms around him hugging him tight. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. Then Kagome pulled back and kissed his cheek.

"It is so good to see you well. I was worried when you left." She admitted.

Hiei nodded and got his stoic look again.

"WHOA! BACK UP! Will some one please explain!?" Yusuke asked.

Kagome smiled slightly.

"Well dear cousin…."

"Cousin?" Hiei interrupted.

She raised an eye brow at him. He shut up.

"I do not wish to tell you cousin." Was all Kagome said.

Then she leaned against the wall. Hiei stood beside her, less then an arms length away. Youko wanted to kill Hiei for being so close too, as he called her our 'future mate'.

"I will not answer your questions till I feel like it. Now I want to go home and start training.

"First we have to go introduce you to our boss." Botan sighed.

Kagome looked at her and nodded. Botan stood and a blue portal opened up.

Hiei's POV:

I stood close to Kagome as the others jumped through the portal. I had just found her after almost five hundred years and I wasn't going to let her out of my sight. When she finally set towards the portal I followed closely. As we stepped into Koenma's office Yusuke spoke up.

"Hey toddler, meet my cousin and our new member."

"What Have I Said About Calling Me Todd…Your cousin?" The toddler asked.

At the moment he was sitting in a high back chair facing away from us filing through a cabinet. We couldn't even see him. We could just hear the flipping of papers.

"Yeah. Her name is Kagome."

Suddenly there was silence. The chair slowly started to turn to reveal the toddler in a red outfit and the hat with the word 'Jr.' printed on it. He had a soother in his mouth too. Kagome smiled at him.

"Hello Koenma." She said.

We all looked at her.

"We didn't tell you his name. Did we?" Botan asked.

"No need to. I have known Koenma for a long time."

"Kagome!" He yelled finally.

He flung himself at Kagome. We all gaped, well my eyes just widened. Kagome hugged the toddler to her laughing.

"It is good to see you Koenma."

"You missed my last birthdays!"

"Yeah I did. I guess I owe you presents then don't I?"

"Yeah." He said excitedly.

We watched closely. Koenma looked like a toddler but never acted as one, now he was cuddling up to Kagome like a happy child.

"How do you know Kagome?" Botan asked.

"I met her with my father. She was the one who gave us the miko powers to set up the barrier between the Makai and this dimension." Koenma chirped.

We all gaped at Kagome.

"Don't tell them anything else Koenma. I will explain it all to them later but I would rather keep it a secret right now." Kagome said.

"Okay Kagome."

We gaped again. We had never seen him obey anyone but his father.

"Did you take care of the present I gave you for your hundredth birthday?" She asked.

"Yes."

Koenma reached his neck and pulled string from his shirt to show a small jewel like Kagome's. I blinked. The toddler had been wearing one of my tear jewels the whole time.

"I gave it to him for his birthday." Kagome said to me.

"What does Hiei have to do with it?" Koenma asked.

"It is one of the jewels made by his tears." Kagome said.

"Hiei cried?" Yusuke said.

He almost started to laugh but with Kagome and me glaring at him he shut up and took a step back.

"I have seen you cry plenty of times Yusuke." She sniffed.

Now everyone looked at Yusuke. He scowled.

"Like the time you tried to steal cookies from me and I beat you and threw you down the shrine stairs. You came back up covered in scrapes and sobbing."

Kuwabara and Botan were laughing, while the others just grinned.

"You know I think I have some pictures of you crying, some of you beaten up, some of you cowering from me, some of you sitting in the corner pouting, and so many more wonderfully embarrassing ones."

Yusuke froze.

"I wouldn't mind some of those." Genkai said.

"They're great to use as black mail." Kagome grinned.

"If you want me to do something you could just turn into the red eyed demon that scared the shit out of me." Yusuke grumbled.

Koenma looked at him sharply.

"You made her angry?" He asked very sharply.

"Yeah she almost transformed as Kurama put it."

"What did they say?' Koenma asked Kagome.

"They kept pestering me about being weak and needing protection, and they tried to order me from entering the tournament." Kagome said.

"If she transforms none of you will be able to stop her. I guess if you teamed up and went full out you may have a chance." Koenma warned.

We all nodded even Kagome.

"Well I'm going to go back top my shrine. I'll meet with you guys a day before the tournament. And I'll bring you your birthday presents." She said the last to Koenma.

He 'hoorayed' and we all snorted. Then Kagome set Koenma down on his desk.

"I'm coming with you." I said.

Everyone looked at me.

"I've been looking for you for hundreds of years. I am not going to let you go now."

"Hiei loves Kagome." Kuwabara taunted.

I glared at him.

"I made an oath in our blood. I am bound to that oath." I said.

Kuwabara shut up. Even he understood that I was bound now till I died.

"I can release you from you duties." Kagome said.

"I do not regret swearing my life to you. I owe you." I said.

She smiled softly. Then she walked up and fingered the white scarf around my neck.

"I see you kept it."

"I grew so now the other parts don't fit anymore. They saved my life a couple of times."

"Did you keep the sword?"

I pulled my sword from under my cloak. The black hilt shone and the black sheath looked brand new. I pulled it from its sheath slightly and the blade glinted. It looked like it hadn't been used once.

"You kept it in good condition." Kagome said.

"She gave you that sword?" Kurama asked.

"Yes. It is made of one of her fangs."

Everyone blinked. Kagome smiled at then yawned.

"Well I'll be going now. You can come if you want Hiei. You know where I live if you need me Yusuke."

He nodded. Then Kagome flicked her wrist. A small crystal on a bracelet, I hadn't seen, glowed and a blue and black portal opened. Everyone blinked at it. Kagome stepped in and Rei who had been on Yukina's shoulder also jumped in. I followed quickly as the portal started to close.

Kurama's POV:

We all watched as Kagome, the cat, and Hiei vanished into the portal.

-Getting close to her will be hard with Hiei guarding her- Youko frowned.

. said we would try to get close to her.--. I said.

-I did, so stop complaining-

I snorted mentally in amusement. I looked at the others.

"If that fire brat tries anything with my cousin I'll kill him." Yusuke growled.

"He probably won't. He seems very loyal to her. Besides he's honourable." Genkai said.

"I wonder why he made a blood oath with her though." I wondered.

They all nodded in agreement.

"And how come our boss is so friendly with her? If you touch her again I'll kill you too." Yusuke threatened Koenma.

"Like you could kill me." Koenma snorted. "Besides she gave me permission to hug her."

"Kami, Kagome kept a tone of stuff from me." Yusuke sighed.

"You kept a lot from her to." I pointed out.

"Well we had better go start training." Genkai said.

Everyone nodded. Suddenly a demon burst in to the office panting.

"What is it George?" Koenma asked.

"King Enma is on his way here."

Everyone tensed.

"Stand straight and be respectful." Koenma said to us.

We all stood beside one another and stayed quiet as King Enma walked into the room. It was very intimidating with him standing over us and looking us over.

"So this is your team of spirit detectives." He boomed.

"Yes but one is gone at the moment." Koenma said.

King Enma nodded.

"I came to tell you that the king of the Makai has invited us to watch the tournament."

Koenma blinked.

"Why?" He asked.

"His heir is participating."

We all tensed.

"The heir of the king of the Makai is competing in the dark tournament?" Genkai asked.

King Enma glanced at us before he nodded.

"Well maybe we should just forfeit now." I said.

King Enma snorted.

"The king of the Makai won't let you. He said he wants the winners of the last tournament to compete and if they didn't they would never be allowed in the Makai, if they lived after his guards were done with them."

We all winced.

"Oh! Guess what dad!" Koenma said looking happy and hyper.

King Enma looked at his son.

"What?"

"I saw Kagome! She was just here."

King Enma blinked.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yeah. It turns out she is close friends with Genkai and she's Yusuke's cousin."

"Mh. I'll have to have her come visit one of these days. I'll show her how much her spiritual powers helped."

We all blinked. It sounded as if Kagome was friends with the king of the underworld not just his son.

"Is she in the Makai?" He asked.

"No, she lives on sunset shrine." Yusuke said.

"Mmh. Does she have a guard? I wouldn't want to have her get killed." King Enma said.

"Hiei is with her. He swore a blood oath to her." Koenma said.

"Good. Now I must go see Sesshomaru. He said he wanted to talk to me."

Then King Enma walked out the door. Koenma sat back down in his chair and we relaxed.

"So, is the heir of the King of the Makai is strong?" Kuwabara asked.

We all gave him the, you-are-an-idiot look, except Yusuke who seemed confused too.

"The king of the Makai rules all the Makai and all the demons. He is the strongest demon alive." Genkai said.

"It would only make sense that his heir would be strong too." I said.

"It would be nice to be king." Yusuke said.

We all sighed. He was an idiot.

"I am guessing that at the tournament if we face off against the king's heir and his team we we'll be royal beaten." I said.

They all winced.

"Let's go get training. I only have two weeks to whip you into shape." Genkai ordered.

We all nodded. Botan opened a portal for us and we all filed through.

Hiei's POV:

As we stepped out of Kagome's portal I saw that we were on a shrine. Suddenly I saw three people walking towards us. One was an old man, one was a teen boy, and the other was a middle aged woman. They all carried bags. Kagome blinked.

"Mother?" she asked.

I blinked too.

"Sorry Kagome but we have a plane to catch." The woman smiled.

"Where are you going?"

"Caribbean!" Souta laughed.

Kagome blinked and looked confused.

"A friend of yours gave us plane tickets and told us the whole vacation was paid for. He said something about a tournament and that you needed to train and we had to be somewhere safe in case we were targeted." Her grandfather said.

"He was the cutest young man. He seemed about eighteen with orange hair in a green ribbon. He had pointy ears and green eyes. And the softest orange tail. He said he was a Kitsune." Her mother said.

"You mean Shippo." Kagome breathed.

"Yes that's his name. He said he had wanted to see you but you weren't here and he was really busy."

"I'm just glad that I know he's alive." Her voice cracked with emotion.

Then we heard the horn of a taxi.

"Well we'll see you later Kagome. Be careful in the tournament." Her mother yelled as they walked down the shrine stairs.

When they were out of sight Kagome sighed happily.

"Well that solves the problem of getting them out of the way for a while."

I nodded.

"Well come on. I'll show you to a room."

I followed her as we walked into the house. As we did I looked around the shrine and memorized the layout. Kagome walked into the house and I quickly followed. She showed me the kitchen, bathroom, living room, her room, her grandfather's room, her mother's room, and her brothers room, which I would be staying in. Then she told me she would go get dinner ready for us. I nodded and dropped a bag I had been carrying on the bed.

I then walked downstairs and sat at the table as Kagome cooked. I noticed that she had thrown on barriers hide her demon scent, miko powers, and appearance. She hummed as she cooked and I just watched her. It had been five hundred years but she hadn't changed at all. I liked that. I liked her just the way she was. When she had finished cooking she handed me some food and we dug in. When we had finished she washed the dishes and ran to her room. She grabbed a purse and we both headed outside.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"I need to do some shopping and it's only about five so everything will still be open."

I nodded and followed. We got groceries and things for around the house. I felt like a husband following his wife around. We got the 'what a cute couple' every time Kagome held my arm or dragged me off. We also stopped at a fabric store and Kagome measured me getting black clothe. She said I needed a new outfit and she would make one. I tried to tell her I didn't need one but she was stubborn and ignored me. When we had finally finished and started to head home Kagome hummed and hung onto my arm. Suddenly she stopped humming and stopped walking. I looked at her and saw her scowling at a man who was walking towards us. The man stopped in front of us and glared at me, then scowled at Kagome.

"So are you two timing? What happened to the other guy with the red hair?"

I scowled as I knew he was talking of Kurama.

=I used Kurama as an excuse to get away from him last time= Kagome said telepathically.

I blinked. I hadn't known she could speak telepathically.

~Nh~ I replied.

"I am not two timing." She said. "Hiei here is my friend, not lover, Hojo."

Hojo just glared.

"But why are you so close, hmm? He seems more then just a friend."

"Just give it up. I am not going to date you ever again. I do not love or even like you Hojo." Kagome said calmly.

"But you led me to believe that. You dated me all those years and threw yourself at me like all the other girls."

I looked at Kagome, whose face had hardened.

"I did not throw myself at you. My friends always set up the dates and you never waited for my answer. You just agreed with them and left. I never loved you Hojo. Now step aside or I will hurt you."

"As if you could! You may have pushed me down the shrine steps but you couldn't beat me one on one."

"Then test me." She hissed.

Hojo stepped forwards. I stepped in front of Kagome.

"Move Hiei." Kagome said.

"No Lady Kagome. I am sworn to protect you."

Kagome sighed while Hojo sneered.

"'Lady' Kagome; don't make me laugh. She is a whore, not even close to a lady. And Kagome can't fight for your self? What happened to your boasting? I knew you were a coward who hid behind others."

"Your threats are false. Besides if you think your taunts can hurt me you are wrong. You are just a bug beneath my shoe I have no need to be hurt by the words of a bug." Kagome said calmly.

Hojo snarled and went to move around me. I punched him hard in the gut. He fell back, the wind knocked from him. He snarled at me. Then he stood. He lashed out in a kick. I blocked easily.

"I have been taking Karate lessons, I'm now a black belt and you're just a thug. You have no chance of beating me." Hojo snarled.

I now saw he wore a karate outfit under his coat and seemed to be heading to his karate lessons now. I snorted in amusement. He lashed out again and I had to admit he was good…for human scum. I grabbed his leg with my demon speed and tossed his whole body to the side with one hand. He smashed into the wall. He sat there, stunned. Kagome walked up to him and crouched down.

"Where do you take Karate lessons?" She asked.

"Two blocks down in the recreation hall." He mumbled still dazed.

Kagome snorted and grabbed him by the collar. She gave me the bags she had been carrying and held Hojo under one arm. It was getting late and most people weren't out. But every time someone did pass Kagome pretended she was helping Hojo home so she didn't raise suspicion. When we reached the building Hojo had said Kagome walked in. She walked to the dojo and knocked on the door.

The room had at least twenty five people in it and they were all exercising or sparring. They all wore the white karate outfit and belts. No one looked up as she knocked. Then one man who seemed to be the sensei frowned and walked up to us. He glanced at Hojo who was still a bit confused and who was being held by the collar by Kagome. Kagome looked blank as she looked at the black belt.

"Did Hojo fight someone?" he asked.

"Yes. Me." I said.

"Why? Did you attack him?" He asked.

"No. I left Hojo a little while ago and he saw me with my friend here. He said he wanted me back and tried to fight me. My friend here intervened and stopped him."

The man frowned. Hojo seemed a little more aware now and stood on his own watching. Then the sensei grinned. Four others walked up and also grinned.

"You know what happens to those who use their karate for purposes other then self defence." The sensei grinned.

"They get kicked out!" One man laughed.

The sensei grabbed his black belt and tore it away. Two of the men grabbed Hojo and dragged him to the front door by his arms. They opened the door and tossed Hojo out, roughly. Then they returned.

"We have been looking for the chance to expel him for a while. He is rude, rough, and mean." The sensei said.

"Serves him right." Kagome sniffed.

"Are you going to be okay? I mean when your friend leaves will Hojo attack you?" The man asked concerned.

Now Kagome laughed.

"If Hojo could beat me one on one he would have long ago."

"So you know self defence?"

"Yes. I am a high level black belt." Kagome said.

The sensei's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Hojo was the only other black belt here and it got boring to spar with him when I could still beat him. Would you mind sparing with me?"

Kagome grinned.

"Sure."

"Would you like to borrow a different outfit?' He asked looking at her skirt and shirt.

Kagome nodded. He grabbed one from a shelf and she changed in a wash room. When she emerged everyone quite what they were doing and started to watch the two. They had mats in the center and Kagome and the sensei stood on them. They each put a mouth guard in and some other safety things. Then they began a full out fight. It went on for about ten minutes. Kagome could easily win but she seemed to want to fight and have fun. Finally she used her strength and threw the guy off the mats and made him yield. Then they all cheered and the two shook hands.

"That was really good. You were toying with me the whole time." The sensei laughed.

Kagome smiled.

"Well we have to go."

The man nodded. Kagome changed. When she went to hand the outfit back to the man he grinned.

"Keep it. A trophy for beating me."

Kagome bowed and thanked him. Then with a wave we walked out the door. Kagome slipped the outfit into one of her bags and took them from me. As we walked back we let silence fall. When we reached Kagome's shrine she unlocked the door and we stepped in. She put all her stuff away and pulled out a sewing machine. She started to sew my clothes and talking about how much easier sewing was with a machine. I sat across from her just watching and relaxing. A little before midnight, Kagome finished my outfit and handed it to me. I thanked her and she smiled. We both walked up stairs and went to our rooms. I fell asleep slowly but I did.

.--.

I woke in the morning to the smell of food. I frowned as I got dressed and walked downstairs. Kagome was cooking pancakes and looked to have just got out of the shower. I frowned as I sat.

"I didn't hear you have a shower." I said.

"I cast a barrier around your room so you wouldn't, and so you could sleep longer."

"But I need to hear in case you need my help."

"I can look after myself and I was just having a shower." She snorted in amusement.

I sighed and watched her. When she was finished we had breakfast, then she cleaned and we headed outside. We trained the day away. We spared, trained alone, and took care of our weapons. When it was dark out we continued to train. I noticed Kagome even wore a blindfold sometimes, to train her senses. We did this routine for almost two weeks. We would eat, train, sleep, and then start the whole order over again. We did improve over the weeks and had fun. We rarely did other things but we did talk a lot while we trained and Kagome told me about herself and some of her past. When the day to meet the others finally arrived we were ready.

.--.

I watched from the doorway as Kagome packed her clothes and put her weapons into jewels. I had seen her do that early in our time together and so wasn't surprised anymore. When Kagome was packed she did a quick clean of the house with me always near. Then she grabbed her bags, and I grabbed mine. She locked the door and smiled at me.

"Well here we go. You think you're ready? Packed everything?"

"Yes Kagome." I sighed

After the first day of training she had told me not to call her milady, or lady Kagome. I had agreed after a while. She smiled at me again and flicked her wrist. The crystal on her bracelet glowed and her blue and black portal opened. We both stepped through and reappeared in a clearing by the sea. I saw boats ready for the teams of fighters waiting. Kagome and I hefted our bags up and headed forwards. When we reached the boats we stood to the side and waited for the others.

Kurama's POV:

For the whole two weeks Yusuke had trained non-stop collapsing more then once from exhaustion. He had said he had to get stronger so he could protect Kagome. He had improved quite a bit too, in just the two weeks. Kuwabara also trained hard, not as hard as Yusuke but still a lot. Yukina had cheered us on and helped us with encouragement. Genkai had trained the first two and helped them improve.

I knew she had also trained herself too. I trained too, but more by myself. I had also improved with Youko as my instructor. For once the fox had shut up in his ramblings and helped. He had said it was so our future mate wouldn't get hurt. I was a bit surprised that he was still hung up on her, but ignored most of his comments about her. Finally the day arrived to go meet Hiei and Kagome.

.--.

We had all packed and stood waiting when Botan's portal opened. We all jumped through the portal and found ourselves in front of Yusuke's house. We found Keiko, Atsuko Yusuke's mom, Shizuru Kuwabara's sister, Koenma in human form, and Botan all waiting for us. They waved.

"Are you ready to whoop some ass Yusuke?!" His mom asked/yelled.

"Yup!" Yusuke said with enthusiasm.

"Because you had better win! I'll be watching and if you don't beat some people at least you'll get it." Atsuko threatened.

"I heard your cousin will be competing." Shizuru said smoking.

"You mean Kagome?" Atsuko asked.

"Yeah." Yusuke sighed.

"She will do fine." Koenma scoffed.

Everyone looked at him.

"I know she will because I have seen her fight before." He said answering the silent question.

"Well you had still better look after her." Atsuko said to her son. "My sister-in-law would kill me if Kagome got hurt."

Yusuke nodded.

"Ready to go?" Botan interrupted.

Everyone nodded and picked their bags up. We all jumped through the portal Botan opened to find ourselves in a clearing near some boats. We walked closer looking for Kagome and Hiei. As soon as we saw them we trotted over. Kagome waved back grinning and Hiei looked blank.

"So ready to go?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah." We said.

"Hello Auntie." Kagome grinned, hugging Atsuko.

"Hey Kagome. I heard you got stronger." She said.

"Yup." Kagome laughed.

When Atsuko stepped back Koenma bounded to Kagome He hugged her and smiled.

"Oh! Koenma I have your late birthday present here."

"Hooray!" He yelled.

Kagome reached into her bag pulling out a tin. The tin held cakes, chocolates, and cookies. Koenma grinned then hugged Kagome tight. Yusuke growled. Koenma at the moment in his human form looked suspicious as he held her. Kagome laughed and hugged him back.

"Dad will be watching the match." Koenma said.

"Enma? Well I'll have to visit him. I haven't seen him in years. Has he changed much?"

"No." Koenma grinned.

Kagome nodded.

"So you know King Enma?" Botan asked.

"Yes." Kagome nodded.

"How?" Genkai asked.

"Secret." Kagome sang.

We all sighed. Even though I had known Kagome in the past and sworn my life to her I still knew very little about her other then her personality, likes, dislikes, and her strengths. We saw the boat pull up and we all walked up. Other demons were already on and many followed us up, but stayed a safe distance away from us. As soon as the boat was loaded it set off. We all stood on deck waiting. If it was anything like last year then we would all fight on the boat and only one – three teams would make it to the island alive. It seemed this way as the captain stepped up to a mike. We all waited and listened.

"We will start the preliminaries here. Only two teams will be allowed to leave this boat when we get to Hangman island. Good luck." He chuckled.

We all pushed Yukina, Atsuko, Shizuru, Botan, and Koenma behind us. The cat on Kagome's shoulder leapt off and transformed growling at advancing opponents. All the other teams seemed to want to eliminate us first. We stood waiting. I made sure I was close to our friends so they didn't get hurt. I saw Hiei stand close to Kagome ready to protect her. The ice cat also stood next to Kagome. The demons watched us a moment then they all sprung. I had to focus on my opponents so I didn't see what happened with the others.

I easily killed off about fifteen people. I now could look to the others. Genkai, Yusuke, and Kuwabara had also easily killed their opponents. At Youko's nagging I looked at Kagome. She stood pouting slightly. It seemed she hadn't got to fight at all. Hiei and the cat Rei were in front of her blocking her from the demons. They had more then easily killed their opponents. I looked around to see another group of people on the opposite side of the deck. I didn't know any of them but they grinned at us.

They were all demons. There was a tiger demon, a cheetah demon, a panther demon, a leopard demon, and a lion demon. It looked as if they had just sat there the whole time while the other demons jumped at us. I watched them a moment, then I looked around again. The captain stood gaping at us. Beside him were two women. One was a woman with black hair in a bun, and red eyes. She wore a kimono and held a fan. The second was an albino teen. She held a mirror and also smiled softly. I watched them and followed their line of sight. They were watching Kagome. I saw Kagome sigh and look at them. When she saw them she blinked. Then she squealed and jumped up to them. She hugged each one and they all grinned. I wondered who she knew them. She motioned us forwards and we all walked up.

"Guys, this is Kagura, a wind sorceress and this is Kanna of the mirror." Kagome said.

"I know them. They work for the king of the Makai." Koenma explained.

We all blinked.

"And this is my cousin Yusuke, his friend Kuwabara, Kurama, and Genkai, our coach. This is Atsuko my aunt, Shizuru Kuwabara's sister, Botan the grim reaper, Yukina Hiei's sister, and Keiko Yusuke's girlfriend." Kagome introduced us.

We nodded at our names.

"And Kagura you know Hiei."

The woman Kagura and Hiei starred at one another a minute.

"Sorry about the attacking you thing." Kagura said.

Hiei nodded. We wondered what that was about but ignored it.

"Yusuke looks like an idiot, Kuwabara looks like a bigger idiot, Kurama seems calm and intelligent, Genkai seems wise, and Hiei seems like Sesshomaru." Kagura said.

Yusuke and Kuwabara glared at her while the rest of us smirked slightly. Kagura just ignored the glares though. Kanna took a step forwards and pulled something from a pocket. She handed it to Kagome and Kagome smiled. She opened the envelope and pulled a letter out.

Kagome's POV:

I looked the letter over quickly.

'_Dear Kagome,_

_I heard you were entering the tournament and I wish to say good luck. Do not die though. Kagura and Kanna will watch you till you get to the island. I will be there along with the others. We may not see you right away though. Enma is going to come watch the final match. I hope you make it that far. You have all my confidence. Kagura also has a gift for you from me .I trust her and Kanna completely. She may forget though so remind her. She sometimes forgets things if she doesn't think it important. She does not know what the gift is. I suggest you do not show it to everyone, it will put you in danger at some times. Wear it if you have a suitable guard or protection around you though. The people should know who their future leader will be. And if you can, try to find a suitable guard. _

_Signed Sesshomaru_

I read it over a second time then handed it to Hiei. He looked at me.

"Burn it please."

He nodded and it burst into black flame. When it was gone I turned to Kagura.

"He said you have something for me?"

"Oh! Yeah, almost forgot." She said.

Kanna rolled her eyes. Kagura walked off towards a room. She returned a minute later with a cloth bundle. She handed it to me and I took it nodding.

"Who sent you that?" Yusuke asked.

"Someone you don't know." I said.

"It might be dangerous." He said.

I laughed.

"I trust the person who sent this to me with my life. And I doubt Kagura would double cross him and give me a dangerous item in its place."

Yusuke just grumbled. I slowly untied the bundle and opened the bundle. I looked down and saw a knife. It was about two feet long. The blade was ordinary enough. The hilt though was beautiful. It was a blue color and looked like water. It had a deep blue, crystal, crescent moon at the top of the hilt inside the blue metal that served as the hilt. The sheath was also a deep, deep blue, almost black. It was plain except for the small crescent moons around the top and bottom. They were engraved into the sheath. I loved it. I saw Koenma gaping.

"Those moons are the symbol of…."

I covered his mouth and pushed him away from the group.

"Don't tell them." I said.

He looked at me then slowly nodded. I lifted my hand.

"So you are the heir to the Makai?" He asked so quietly not even the demons in our group would hear.

I nodded.

"I thought it would be Inuyasha. He is second oldest no?" He asked.

"Correct but Inuyasha didn't want the place and is not cut out for it." I said.

He nodded.

"So the crescent moon is the symbol of the King of the Makai?" I asked.

"Yes. No one wears a crescent moon unless they are given permission by the king of the Makai. Or those who are born with a crescent moon marking. His most trusted vassals wear them and his close family. Kagura has one on the bottom of her fan and Kanna has one on her mirror."

The others were watching closely and curiously. I nodded and we walked back to the group.

"Thank you Kagura." I said.

She nodded. I wrapped the cloth back around the knife.

"You're not going to wear it?" Kurama asked.

I knew the thief in him would love anything pretty and he would have worn it,

"No. It's too dangerous."

"I thought you said he wouldn't send you anything dangerous." Yusuke said.

"It won't hurt me but it may make others come after me."

"To steal it?" Atsuko asked.

I shrugged. I held the bundle an arm and went to the railing. I leaned on it and looked at the waves. I felt the cool breeze blow my hair and sighed in content. I had seen Rei walk off with Yukina and I had seen Hiei walk off to a different part of the deck to train. Everyone sort of just wandered around. The captain had also shown everyone their rooms. I just stayed at the railing looking out over the sea. After a bout an hour I heard someone walk up next to me. It was the tiger from the other team. He just stayed next to me looking out over the railing. I didn't mind. His team seemed more civilized and more polite then the other teams. They weren't human haters and they weren't rude, loud, or mean. They seemed nice.

"May I ask why the two women that work for the king of the Makai seem to listen to you and why the prince of the underworld also obeys you?"

"So you recognize the women and prince?" I asked

"I saw the crescent moons and I have seen the prince from a distance before."

I nodded.

"Are you loyal to the king of the Makai?" I asked.

"We are part of the castle guard. We wanted to enter the tournament to show to our king how strong we are." He said.

"So you protect the king of the Makai?" I asked.

"Well we are some of the palace guards. We are higher then the guards who stand guard on the walls of the castle but not as high as the elite guard who guard the king personally."

"You are loyal to him?" I asked.

He nodded. I smiled.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you who I am as long as you don't tell anyone else."

"I promise on my honour." He said solemnly.

I unwrapped my bundle and revealed my blade. His eyes widened and he gaped. He looked at me then the sword.

"Only the king of the Makai and his siblings have knives like this." He whispered.

"My name is Kagome Taisho. Sesshomaru is my big brother."

The guard gaped a moment then stumbled ten feet from me. He bowed low and stayed like that. I saw his team members walk over to us. Suddenly the tiger growled and they all bowed too.

"Who is she?" one whispered.

"I can't tell." The tiger said.

He seemed to be fighting between his promise to me and his duty to serve me and make sure others showed me proper respect. I sighed.

"I guess you can tell if you want."

"She's the heir to the Makai throne."

Their bows deepened.

"Stand up. You do not need to stay bowed." I said.

They stood but looked at the ground.

"My lady, we will drop from the tournament and act as your guards till have a… proper escort."

"You mean the elite guards?" I asked.

"Yes." He said.

I sighed.

"You do not need to do that."

"Yes we do. We are sworn to your family. We will serve you till we die." They all said.

They all kneeled on one knee and stayed with their heads bowed. I sighed again. Then I smiled slightly. Sesshomaru had told me to find a guard, and I guessed I had just found one.

"Fine."

"Thank you for this milady. We swear to serve you forever."

They all stayed bowed. I rested my hand on the tiger's shoulder. He looked up.

"Stand."

They all stood slowly.

"You may protect me if you wish."

"We will milady. We won't leave you unguarded."

I sighed again.

"If I'm not to forward I would like to say you should wear the knife milady. You must show who you are so people treat you with the proper respect."

"I guess I should."

I slipped the blade into my belt at my waist and folded the cloth. One of the guards stepped forwards.

"I will take that to your room for you."

"Thank you." I smiled.

He bowed his head and trotted off with the cloth. I looked at the tiger demon who was apparently the leader.

"So what are your names?" I asked.

There was Suko, he was the one who had returned the cloth to my room, then there was Minko, Mito, Sai, and the leader, the tiger was Kito. I smiled at each of them then turned to Kito.

"Will you spar with me?" I asked.

He blinked and slowly nodded. I pulled my knife free and he pulled his free. The other three guards stepped to the side to watch. We crossed our blades and began. At first I think he was worried about hurting me but as soon as I gave him a smart whap with the flat of my blade he fought back. We exchanged blows, dodged, and parried. I think we had been fighting for ten minutes when we were interrupted. Yusuke jumped between us and glared at Kito.

"What are you doing?" He asked me.

"Sparring."

"With the enemy? If he wanted to kill you he could and we would be short one member."

"I would never hurt her." The guard said sharply.

"How can I trust you?" Yusuke asked. "You're the enemy."

I walked to Yusuke and looked at Kito.

"Thank you for sparring with me. Ignore my cousin."

"Kagome…" Yusuke started dangerously.

I glared at him and he shut up but glared right back. Finally he took a step back. I slid my knife into my sheath and the guard did the same. The other guards stepped up behind me and waited.

"What is going on?" Genkai asked.

She, Kurama, Kanna, Kagura, Koenma, and Hiei walked up.

"Kagome is sparring with the enemy." Yusuke said.

Everyone looked at me quizzically.

"They are not my enemy." I said curtly.

Yusuke opened his mouth but Kito cut him off.

"We are her guards."

"Why does she need Guards?"

They looked to me and I shook my head.

"You'll figure it out later."

"So you decided to wear the knife." Kurama said.

I nodded. I looked at the others. They all seemed to except the fact I had guards except Yusuke who looked irritated. Hiei stepped closer to me and stood next to me. He looked the guards over. I knew he wouldn't trust them completely.


	17. Tainted Curse : Crossover

Kagome's POV:

I looked down at my kit, who cuddled up to me. I smiled faintly. Then Shippo rolled over and curled up against a small Kirara who slept on the opposite side of him. Bother were in deep sleep and seemed so peaceful. I looked up from my sitting position. The small clearing was surrounded by tall trees that looked like ominous shadows reaching down for me, in the dark.

I looked away from the shadows I couldn't see beyond and at the last embers of the fire. They burned brightly as if fighting to live. The soft orange glow was comforting in the dark of night. Tonight even the moon and stars were clouded over. I sighed and shifted slightly as I felt my leg go to sleep. I currently sat with my legs drawn to my chest, my arms wrapped tight around my legs and my face resting on my knees. I looked deep into the embers as if memorized, as I fell into thought, which I had started to do often.

I was now nineteen. I had grown a lot in four years. My whole life had changed the day that centipede demon had pulled me down the well. I had met Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Kirara, Shippo, Kaede, Kikyo, Koga, Sesshomaru, Rin, Jaken… the list went on. Some of us had been enemies at first but in the end we some how in the end we all shared a common goal; to kill Naraku. I needed to get the Shikon No Tama too of course. We had travelled together for almost four years. I had once been an untrained girl with miko powers from the future, but over the years I had changed. For one I had grown physically and mentally. But as I had grown tired of being useless I had left our small group and got Kikyo to fill in for me while I had gone to a miko for training. It had been worth the half a year of back breaking pain, labour, and rules. I had learned a lot about my miko powers all on my own too. The miko hadn't been able to teach me completely since I had more possibilities and strength then her. So I had tinkered with my powers. I had somehow got my miko powers to strengthen my body. I could run faster then Inuyasha, jump higher then him, and I could hear and see better. I also had more strength and stamina. It had helped so much.

I was pulled from my thoughts as Kirara mewed at me. I looked down at the neko who looked up at me worriedly.

"I'll go to sleep, don't worry." I told her.

She mewed slightly and lay back down but kept watching me. I sighed and laid back. At least I didn't have to worry about demons at the moment. Somehow when I had been heading home with Kirara and Shippo the well had sent us to another dimension. I didn't know what was in this dimension but I did know it had fewer demons then the feudal era. I didn't know where we were either. It had the same land markings and such as the feudal era, though many paths had disappeared so we tried to find our way around as best as we could.

The demons here were weaker too so they could be killed easier. We hadn't found any villages or people yet though. We had decided long ago that we were in an uninhabited forest. We didn't dare to fly on Kirara either, because she could be seen by enemies easier and we didn't know how people would react to a flying neko. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I finally sighed and took even breathes, soon drifting off.

.--.

I woke to Shippo shaking me.

"Mom, wake up!" He said.

He seemed to be trying to roll me over but I of course was about seven times his size. I cracked my eyes open slightly and smiled at him. He sat back on his butt and started to pout. I noticed the fire was lit and there was some fish over it. I sat up and looked at Shippo who returned to the fish. We had been together for four years and I had become his mother. I had taught him a lot too. He always helped with the fire and he caught the food. He had become an okay cook too. I smiled proudly at him and he brightened, seeing I was proud of him.

Kirara watched me as I rubbed my eyes. I wanted and needed, more sleep. Lately I hadn't got very much. I always felt too vulnerable when asleep, and lately nightmares had plagued my nights. I had probably slept about five hours last night. That wasn't enough when we walked all day and when I carried Shippo and Kirara a lot. But I couldn't help it. I just couldn't sleep for to long. Besides that I woke up at every crack, crunch, or hoot at night. I could sleep through anything Shippo did because I was so comfortable around him. I knew I had to get more sleep because if we met a strong enemy, not one of the weaker demons we kept meeting, I would be in trouble.

Shippo looked at me, worry touching his eyes. He had started to take over my breakfast duties and tried to walk as much as possible instead of riding on my shoulder. I knew the two were worried about me but I ignored the looks and stood up. I walked to the small stream a little ways off and washed my face with the icy water. Then I brushed my long raven hair. It now fell to my waist and I loved it long. I yawned and walked back to camp. Shippo held out a fish for me and at my smile he smiled back. Then he frowned as I started to eat.

"You need to sleep more, mommy." He said.

"I will dear."

"Is it nightmares about the fight?" Shippo asked.

"Yes." I said as my face darkened.

Then I smiled.

"But I will have to stay strong so I can protect you."

"Don't worry mommy. I'll get stronger so I can protect you instead."

He puffed out his chest. I smiled at him and let him sit on my lap as we ate our food. I glanced to my black back pack. It was getting smaller each day. We had headed home with a full bag but now we had eaten almost all the food and we had only a few supplies left. We could easily survive another couple months. We could fish, hunt, and live of the land but it had already been a month here and I was a bit worried about not finding any village or people.

I shook the negative thoughts off and finished eating. When we had finished we doused the fire and buried the ashes, leaving almost no hint we had been there. Then I hefted my back pack on my back. My staff, which was tied to the bag jingled as the hoops clashed. I held out my arms. Shippo looked at them and jumped into them cuddling into me. Kirara jumped to my shoulder. Without my miko powers enhancing me I wouldn't have been able to walk with my back pack, Shippo, and Kirara for the last month without collapsing from exhaustion. I yawned silently and took off at an even pace down the deer trail we had been following these past couple days.

We had walked for a couple hours while Shippo chatted with me or jumped off my shoulder to look at an interesting rock, plant, or flower. He seemed happy. The sun was up and the clear blue sky looked like an ocean. We walked on until we found a stream. When we reached it Shippo started to splash his hands in it and skip rocks. I kneeled beside it and pulled out our canteens. I filled them and stored the back in my bag. Then I washed my face and drank some water. I found a berry plant and picked some. I gave Shippo a handkerchief full and he started to eat them quickly. Kirara ate a few but preferred meats. I ate some and then sat under a tree in the shade.

Kirara sat on my lap and I closed my eyes but kept my senses open as I 'watched' Shippo play. I could hear him, sense him with my miko powers, and I could feel his aurora. He had started to chase something. I could tell as he bounded back and forth jumping sometimes. I took a deep breath and focused my powers. I let small ripples off miko powers go as I kept my eyes shut. The ripples were so small that no one would feel them but it helped me. It was like a bat and sound. The ripples would hit and object and splash back to me telling me where the person was and who or what they were. I found out that Shippo was chasing a small bug, either a butterfly or a dragon fly. I smiled softly. I soon felt him jump into a bush after it.

"Don't go to far Shippo." I said.

"I won't mommy."

Then he bounded at the bug, which flew up into the tree. He scampered up as quickly as a squirrel. I smiled softly and started to make my powers go farther sensing other bugs and animals.

Sasori's POV:

We walked silently through the trees down the trail. Deidara had been talking almost non-stop since we had left the base and I had finally threatened him to be quiet. He had given in….for the moment. I shook my head slightly and scanned the area. There were rumours of a traveller in this forest. Not many came here. Zetsu had been the one who had caught sight of the person. He had said the person had been strong enough to kill seven other demons, three at the same time so we wondered if it was a stronger demon or a ninja. Whoever they were they had to be dealt with, since they had started to wander towards our base. I sighed inaudibly. We continued on and I glanced at the sky. It was about noon. Suddenly I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I released a kunai. I heard a cry and walked up to a tree to see I had pinned a small boy by his shirt, to the tree. Deidara and I blinked at his tail, pointy ears, and fox feet.

"A demon, un?" He asked.

"It's a kitsune. They are quite rare." I answered.

The kitsune looked up at us.

"W-who are yo-you?" He stuttered.

We just watched him. We knew demons could talk so that wasn't a surprise. He lifted his small hands and grasped my kunai trying to free him self. Deidara jumped forwards and pulled the kunai free tossing it to me. Then he grabbed the fox by the tail and looked at him.

"He's cute, un." Deidara grinned.

"Let me go!" The kitsune said squirming.

"Can we bring him with us Sasori, un?"

"No. Kill it. It is most likely alone, it'll die soon anyways."

"Fine, un."

Deidara sighed and fished a knife from his pouch. The kitsune's eyes widened and he shook. Deidara raised his knife.

"MOMMY!" He yelled.

We immediately looked up and tensed. If his mother was near we had to be ready. Suddenly a woman jumped into the clearing. She had long flowing raven-black hair that fell to her waist and deep water blue eyes. She had a nice body that filled out in all the right places, with creamy-pale skin. She wore an old fashioned outfit. Her haori was deep blue with spots of silver and icy blue. He hakamas were just deep blue. Her obi was icy blue and I saw three swords at her waist. She looked to be nineteen. I saw that she also was in a position ready to strike. She had a hard look in her eyes and she growled deep in her throat. I looked her over. She seemed to be human. She looked at the kitsune and I saw her freeze. I heard a growl at the girl's feet and saw a cat. I blinked at the two tails.

"Are you human?" I asked.

She looked at me a moment then at the kit.

"Yes."

"Why do you travel with demons?"

"Not all demons are evil." She answered curtly.

I silently agreed. I looked at the fox in Deidara's arms. I doubted it could be evil. Deidara was still ready to kill him but the fox had relaxed at the sight of the woman. He sniffed and wiggled again. The woman squinted at Deidara. She held out to fingers. They glowed blue a moment. Then suddenly she lunged at us. A blue whip cracked towards Deidara from her fingers. Our eyes widened. She hadn't used hand signs and that energy wasn't chakra. It wasn't demon energy either. Deidara jumped back and dropped the kitsune. It immediately bounded to the woman and scrambled up to her shoulder. We saw the cat do the same as it comforted the kitsune, who curled up and hugged the woman. Then the woman looked at us with a blank face.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"We're ninja from Akatsuki."

"What ninja village are you from, un?" Deidara asked.

The woman blinked.

"Ninja?"

We starred at her. She didn't know what ninja were?

"I know what ninja are." She answered as if reading our minds. "Just were we come from they aren't common."

"Really? Ninja are every where. Where do you come from, un?"

"I come from very far away. There are lots of demons and few ninja."

We blinked at her. Then I looked her over again. She seemed quite strong and I was very curious about her powers.

"What is your name?" I asked.

She looked at us a moment.

"Kagome."

"I'm Sasori."

"And I'm Deidara! Sorry about trying to kill the fox but we thought it was an orphan and were going to do the merciful thing, un."

The woman nodded okay.

"Do you want to come back to our base with us? Our Leader will want to talk to you." I said.

Deidara and the woman blinked at us. Then she peered at us closely.

"How do I know you won't turn on us?"

"We swear no harm shall come to you until you have taken to our leader."

The girl seemed to think a moment. Then she nodded.

"I will come."

I smirked slightly and Deidara grinned. Then Deidara looked at me.

"Flying will be faster, un."

I sighed and nodded. Deidara dropped clay bird and in a puff of smoke it enlarged. The woman's eyes lit up and she smiled.

"That was wonderful!" She breathed.

Deidara grinned and stood straighter at her compliment. I motioned for her to get on. She paused.

"I will ride Kirara instead."

"Kirara, un?"

She pointed to the cat on her shoulder. We starred at it then her.

"You know that is a cat and it is about ten times smaller then you right, un?"

Kagome let a small laugh go. Kirara sniffed at us and jumped to the ground. In a burst off flame she turned into a large sabre tooth cat. We starred another moment.

"Cool, un!"

He bounded forwards and stroked the cats head. The cat gave him a 'you-are-retarded' look. Deidara scowled and hoped back to his bird. We both jumped on and waited as Kagome slid onto the cat with the kitsune. I now saw she had a pack on her back. I also noticed that Kagome looked tired and they looked as if they had been out here for a while.

"How long have you been out here for?" I asked.

"A month." Kagome said.

We starred at her a moment.

"You lived off the land?" I asked.

She nodded.

"I have done that for years so it isn't hard."

We nodded and then we soared into the sky on the bird. We watched as the cat crouched then leapt. It climbed into the sky next to us and seemed to smirk at us. I saw Kagome yawn and her eyes sank. Then she shot up.

"Mommy you need to sleep more."

"I'm fine Shippo."

"No you aren't. You are almost falling asleep."

"I'll be fine so just rest okay."

She gave the kitsune a cheery smile and looked to wake up more. The kitsune nodded and curled up.

"Are you his adoptive mother?" I asked

She looked at me and nodded. She blinked slowly and seemed to nod a bit. The cat growled softly. Kagome just smiled at pet her.

"I'm fine, I really…*yawn*…am."

"How much sleep have you been getting?" I asked out of curiosity.

"About three to four hours each night, for the last month."

She yawned again. I scowled slightly. Even I couldn't get away with just that much sleep. I wanted to ask her more questions but her head drooped and her eyes shut. I saw her breathing even and sighed. We flew like this for two hour. The woman woke every time we moved too much but even when her kit jumped on her she wouldn't wake. I sighed again. Finally we reached our base. It was actually a large house. No one was outside. We dove to the ground where we touched down softly. Deidara's bird vanished in a puff of smoke and the cat turned small in a blast of fire after her passengers were off. Kagome looked a little more rested. She held her son in her arms and the cat rested on her shoulders. We walked in the door. I was in the lead with Deidara at the end. Kagome stepped in pace with us and didn't make a sound. I walked straight down the halls to a large door. I knocked and waited. Suddenly it swung open.

"What?" Pein asked.

"We found the traveller."

He looked at Kagome and blinked. Then he saw the two demons. He opened the door farther and motioned us in. We all slipped in. We sat in some chairs as he sat across from us.

"So why did you bring her here?" He asked.

"She is strong and I thought you may be curious."

"Strong?"

"She seems trained, un."

"I am trained."

We glanced at the woman.

"Are you a ninja?" Pein asked.

"No."

"Where do you come from?"

"I come from far away. In my land there are very few ninjas and a lot of demons."

We all watched her a moment.

"What are you trained in then?" Pein asked.

"I have mastered the bow, the sword, the whip, the spear, and I can use any dagger or knife. I have also been trained in hand to hand combat."

We still watched her.

"I have…other abilities too."

"Like that whip, un?"

"What whip?" Pein asked.

"She made a whip appear out of no where. And it was glowy blue. It hit my sleeve and burned it, un."

Deidara held up a sleeve and it was burned at the cuff. I wondered how I had missed that.

"Can I see the whip?" Pein asked.

Kagome sighed. She set Shippo and Kirara down and stepped away from them. She held out a hand and a blue glowy orb appeared. It was like the whip but shaped as an orb.

"This is my power. I can make weapons out of it, sense things, purify demons, and many other things."

"Purify…You are a miko?" He asked in surprise.

We blinked at him surprise.

"Yes." Kagome said.

We starred at her.

"They died out hundreds of years ago." I said.

"Well from where I'm from there are still some left. I am the most powerful though."

"Yeah. My mommy could whoop you all!" the kit bragged.

"Mom?" Pein asked.

"Adopted son." I said.

"You adopted a demon as your son?" Pein asked.

"Yes. I know it's not common, and mikos are supposed to hate demons but I like to bend the rules."

We watched her again.

"Where are you heading?" Pein asked.

"Well I don't know. I was just walking where my feet took me."

"So you aren't a ninja or from any village?" I asked.

She shook her head.

"I would like to go home but at the moment I can't."

She sighed.

"Will we miss their wedding mommy?"

"I'm afraid so Shippo."

"What wedding, un?" Deidara asked.

"Our two friends are going to get married." Kagome smiled.

We nodded.

"Why can't you get back?" I asked.

"Our… transportation was shut down for a while."

We watched her for lies but saw none.

"Deidara show them to a guest room." Pein said.

Deidara nodded and stood. Kagome stood too and the two demons jumped to her. She bowed her head to Pein.

"Thank you."

He nodded and they walked off. Then Pein turned to me.

"You thought she might join?"

"She has no where to go and I think she is quite strong. We could also train her as a ninja and she would be stronger. Along with the two demons."

He nodded.

"Well watch them. They can stay for a couple days."

I nodded and stood. Then I bowed my head and walked out the door heading to my own room. I had a good book waiting for me.

Kagome's POV:

We followed Deidara through the halls to a door. Then he stopped and opened the door. I looked in to see a large bed, a dresser, a nightstand, and a door leading to a bathroom. I looked at Deidara who smiled.

"This is your room while you stay here, un. You have to stay until leader says you can leave. And I suggest that you keep those two close, and keep your eyes out because the other members don't know about you, un."

"So you are a group of criminals." I said.

Deidara blinked.

"How did you know, un?"

"I just guessed." I grinned.

He grinned back.

"Well I'm off to make art, un."

"Like the bird?" Shippo asked.

"Yeah. I make special clay that explodes like bombs, un." H grinned.

"How?" I asked.

He held up his hands. We gasped as we saw small mouths on them.

"It is my kekkai genkai, or bloodline limit."

"Do all ninja have a blood line limit?"

"Only the clans that have always been families of ninja, un. Some don't but they can still be good ninjas, un."

"So you just have an advantage?"

"Yes, un."

"So how do you do everything you ninja do?"

"We have an energy called chakra in us, un. Kind of like your powers. But we use our in the forms of jutsus. We can make genjutsu which are illusions, ninjutsus which are techniques or we can do taijutsu which is hand to hand combat or weapon fighting, un. We can use chakra to make us walk on water, scale things, make us faster, and make us stronger, un. Some ninja are really good at genjutsu while others can't even use genjutsu. Ninjas are vary a lot in these categories, un. Like I'm best at ninjutsus and Itachi is best at genjutsus, un."

I nodded as I studied what he had given me. I faintly wondered who Itachi was.

"So you can walk up walls!?" Shippo chirped.

"Yeah."

"Show me! Please."

Deidara sighed and walked to a wall. He put his foot on it and started to walk. Soon he was upside down on the ceiling. Kirara watched with mild interest Shippo was grinning and cheering and I watched. I scanned him with my miko powers and I did find energy in him. Most of it was focused at his feet and I guessed that was how he did what he did. He let the power even back out and dropped from the ceiling.

"Can I learn to do that?" Shippo asked.

"No. I can't sense any chakra in you so you can't learn, un."

Shippo wilted slightly. Then he brightened.

"Can you make more of you?"

"Yeah, clones, un."

He brought his hands together and did a sign. Suddenly three more of him popped up and mimicked his movements. Shippo grinned.

"I can do that to!"

Deidara blinked.

"Really, un?" He asked in curiosity.

Shippo nodded. He pulled some leaves from his vest. Deidara watched as he threw them into the air and in puffs of smoke more Shippo laughed and tackled Deidara. Deidara fell back and laughed as all the clones disappeared leaving one Deidara and Shippo.

"What was the sign you made?" I asked.

Deidara looked at me.

"A hand sign. You use them to use jutsus. Use them in orders and you can use jutsus. Jutsus won't work without using hand signs….well a few will, un."

I nodded.

"Well I'm off. You can look around if you want. Oh and Sasori and I have a room next to you so if you need anything come see us, un."

We nodded and he jogged off. **'OH MY GOD! They are so hot!' **the voice in my head said. 'I guess they are.' I replied. **'I love how the blonde adds un at the end of everything.**' I nodded. I had gotten use to the voice. I had started to hear it right before our battle with Naraku. It had helped me a lot actually. It was one of the things that had saved my life. I wondered where it had come from but it wouldn't answer. I guessed it was me in a sense and I was going a little mad, but hey. Well it gave me lots of useful advice and was a very interesting … thing to talk with. It rarely spoke though. I shook the thoughts aside and Shippo, Kirara, and I walked into the room and shut the door.

First thing I did was drop my bag and Kirara on my bed and then Shippo and I headed for the washroom. We stripped and jumped in the shower. I turned the warm water and sighed happily. I hadn't properly scrubbed for a while. I scrubbed as Shippo did the same thing. We washed our hair then jumped from the water. We dried off then I sat Shippo on my lap as I brushed his tail and hair. I re-did his pony tail and looked at him. He looked better then before. I brushed my own hair. I sighed happily as I walked back into the room in a towel. I needed to wash my clothes I had been wearing so I needed to get a clean change from my bag. I blinked as I saw a black bundle on my bed. Kirara just mewed. I walked to the bundle and read the note on it.

_Kagome_

_Here is a change of clothes. Please wear it while here so you don't stick out in the old fashioned outfit of yours, no offence._

_Leader_

I smiled slightly. I grabbed the outfit and unfolded it to find a black fighting kimono with red clouds. It looked like the cloaks the guys had worn. I smiled and pulled it on. Then I sat on my bed and brushed Kirara's fur. She purred as I brushed the burs and dirt from her. When that was done I laid down on my bed. It was about two and I decided to have a quick doze. Kirara and Shippo followed my example and curled up by my stomach. I sighed happily and soon drifted off.

.--.

I woke at Shippo's shaking once again. I blinked.

"Mom can we get up and look around?" He asked.

"Okay then."

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Kirara was washing herself and Shippo looked bored. I glanced at the clock to see it was dinner.

"Well we might as well go find something to eat."

I threw my legs over the bed and then reached for my weapons. I hid some small daggers on myself and had strapped my three swords on. I didn't know if I was allowed to carry weapon here or if they wanted me too but I didn't want to let the swords out of my sight. I then walked for the door. Kirara trotted by my feet and Shippo was on my shoulder looking around. We looked out the door then stepped out. Shippo twitched and lifted his nose.

"I smell cooking that way." He said pointing down the left hall.

I smiled at him and set off at a brisk pace. We walked down a couple halls as Shippo directed me till we came to a large arch way. We peeked in and saw a guy in black clothes, with raven black hair, and a bright orange swirly mask on. He seemed to be trying to cook a meal for about ten or so people. He didn't seem to be succeeding either. I set Kirara and Shippo on a chair at the table and stepped up to the man.

"Do you need help?" I asked.

The person jumped about three feet in the air and whipped around to me. He looked at me a moment.

"Who are you pretty lady? Tobi is a good boy!" He sang.

My mouth twitched. He sounded like a ten year old.

"Well Tobi, my name is Kagome, I am staying here a while with Shippo and Kirara." I said motioning to the two watching us. "Do you need help?"

"Yes Tobi needs some help." He sighed.

I smiled. I stepped around him and took over as he watched over my shoulder. I saved most of the food just as it was starting to burn. I turned down the stove because it was too high, took off some lids, stirred some things, and added some things. Tobi soon followed my example and started to help. We soon finished and shut the stove off. We set the table and then I looked to where Kirara and Shippo had been sitting. I blinked at the empty seat. I knew they hadn't left the kitchen. Then I looked to the fridge. I giggled as I saw them lying on the top watching Tobi from above with curiosity. I just watched them then returned to setting the table. Suddenly I felt someone enter the kitchen. I turned to see Pein. He blinked at the food.

"Whoa! Real food!" He said in surprise.

He grinned.

"Tobi go get the others they'll want some. And tell them I said to come eat."

Tobi nodded savagely and scrambled from the room. I laughed softly and continued to finish. I noticed that Shippo and Kirara stayed on the fridge where the heat was. They seemed relaxed. Suddenly Shippo's nose twitched.

"Seven people are coming and they smell weird."

I held back giggles and Pein grinned at the fox. He was right though. A second later seven people burst into the room. One had silver slicked back hair and violet eyes. Beside him was a man in a mask. Then there was a woman with blue hair and a paper flower, and a man that looked like he was being eaten by a Venus fly trap, Sasori and Deidara followed. They stopped as Tobi slipped past them. They starred at the food which Pein was already eating.

"Real food!?" The silver haired man asked in surprise.

I felt a smirk of amusement spread on my face. I leaned against the counter and wondered when they would notice me. Sasori and Deidara moved first sitting down.

"Thanks Kagome." They chorused.

I smiled as everyone else whipped their heads to look up at me. They starred at me.

"Who are you?" The woman asked.

"That is Kagome. She will be staying with us for a while." Pein said still gulping down his food.

Tobi had grabbed some food and skipped out a while ago.

"This is Hidan, Kakuzu, Konan, Zetsu, and you know Sasori and Deidara." Pein said pointing to each member.

I bowed my head to each one.

"You all smell funny."

Everyone's head whipped up again as they starred at Shippo and Kirara. Kirara was sitting with her head tilted and Shippo had his head in his hands, and his elbowed propped up. They were still on the fridge.

"What the fuck are demons doing in here?" Hidan asked.

"Don't swear in front of children." I said calmly.

He just scowled at me.

"They are with Kagome." Pein said.

"What was that about us smelling weird?" Kakuzu asked instead.

"Well the woman smells like paper and the leader, the plant thing smelled like flesh and blood, silver man smells like blood, the mask man smells like lots of things and numerous hearts, Tobi smells like cooking, Sasori smells like wood, Deidara smells like clay, and the leader smells like the woman."

I saw Leader choke on some his food and Konan blushed almost unnoticeably, but no one paid attention to that.

"Doesn't Kagome smell?" Deidara grinned.

"No. Mommy has no smell. She cloaked it so no other demon could smell her."

"What?" Pein asked.

"I put a barrier around myself that no one can sense and it keeps my scent in so no demon or animal can smell me."

"Why do you have that on?" Konan asked.

"Because from where I'm from if a demon can smell you and you're alone you are screwed." I said evenly.

"Kagome comes from a land infested by demon, that are stronger then the ones here and there are few ninja."

Everyone glanced at me, Shippo, and Kirara. Then they also leapt to the table and dug in. I rolled my eyes slightly. I had already grabbed some food and motioned Shippo over. He jumped from the fried with Kirara. They both ate sitting on the counter and I ate leaning beside them. As everyone finished they wandered off except Pein and Konan. When everyone else was gone they looked at Shippo.

"Can you refrain from telling people you smell us on each other?" Pein asked.

I hid a grin as Shippo nodded innocently.

"Is it because you don't want anyone to know?" Shippo asked.

The two nodded.

"Just like mommy!"

Their eyes sharpened as they looked at him. I froze.

"Mommy's boyfriend used to disappear then he would smell like Kikyo. Mommy told me not to blurt it out because the others would worry about mommy. Then when mommy asked Inuyasha he would be mean to her. He hit her a couple timmmhhh."

I covered Shippo's mouth, muffling him, so he didn't say anything else. The two at the table watched me. I couldn't help but let my feelings of anger, hate, and disgust show on my face. Shippo shut up and I moved my hand.

"Boyfriend cheating on you?" Konan asked.

"No. He was never mine. He liked the dead bitch." I said coldly.

"Mommy you sweared!" Shippo said.

"Sorry."

"Dead…. You mean he couldn't get over his dead love?" Pein asked.

"No. Kikyo was dead but alive. She had a clay body and lived off of souls. She had part of mommy's soul in her toooooooo…."

Shippo quieted at my look.

"How is that possible?" Konan asked.

"Shippo, Kirara why don't you guys go to the room." I said.

Shippo and Kirara scrambled from the counter and trotted out of the room. I had my back turned to the two my hands on the counter.

"Many things are possible." I whispered.

"But the dead still walking the earth…and why would she have your soul?" Pein asked.

"I can not answer your questions. Maybe if I trust you later on. But it is too soon. You wouldn't believe me anyways."

I turned to them. My eyes were once again hard. They didn't say anything. Then suddenly Tobi came running in his hands waving frantically as he tried to get a clay bird off his shoulder. He somehow ripped it off and chucked it at me. Pein and Konan's eyes widened and Pein went to say something. Tobi froze. I guessed the bird was dangerous. Then just as it got closer to me I remembered that Deidara made clay bombs.

Pein's POV:

We froze as we saw Tobi accidentally chuck the clay bomb at Kagome. Kagome blinked at it not understanding it was dangerous. Tobi froze. Kagome needed to answer a lot of my questions and she couldn't if she was blown to bits. The bird exploded as soon as it was less then a foot from Kagome. We all winced as the explosion echoed through the room and the lights shook. We coiffed as the dust spread through the room. I wondered what Tobi had done for Deidara to through a bomb at him for. I saw Deidara come running in through the smoke.

"WHERE DID YOU PUT THE REST OF MY CLAY, un!?" Deidara yelled at Tobi.

'Ah, Tobi stole his clay.' I thought. Tobi didn't answer as he starred at the dust where Kagome was.

"Deidara! You blew Kagome up!"

Deidara gaped and spun to where the dust was the thickest. Suddenly it was blown away to show Kagome just leaning against the counter. We all blinked at the blue barrier surrounding her.

"Miko barrier…." I said.

"She's a Miko?!" Konan asked. "I thought the last died hundreds of years ago!"

"She said where she comes from there are some left." I replied.

I looked back at Kagome who looked annoyed.

"Deidara if I didn't activate that barrier in time I would have been in trouble."

Then she smiled. It wasn't a sweet or happy smile. It was a cold evil one. Deidara gulped.

"We-well got t-to go fin-find m-my clay… un." He shook giving a nervous laugh.

Then he ran for it. Tobi followed him laughing at him. We looked at Kagome who faked a pout.

"Give them a smile and they run away."

I grinned at her.

"Well I'm going off to my room. Paper work." Konan said walking out the door.

"Yeah, I have Ko… I mean paper work to do." I grinned.

Kagome raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm. Do you happen to have any books I can read on ninja stuff?" she asked.

"Yeah in the library." I said as I jogged off. "Feel free to look around the base."

Kagome's POV:

I watched them run off. I laughed. The place was odd but our old group had also been odd. I straightened and walked off to my room. When I reached it I looked in. Shippo was playing with his top and Kirara was trying to catch it. When Shippo saw me he lunged at me.

"I'm sorry I talked to much mommy."

"That's okay just don't tell anyone where we're from or what happened. Just say we're from far away."

"Okay."

Then Shippo jumped from my arms and tackled Kirara who had caught his top. They wrestled and played while I moved to the bed. I started to go through the stuff in my bag. I had some tea, very little, a thing of ramen, Kirara's brush, mine and Shippo's brush, some sleeping clothes, two other changes of clothes for both Shippo and me, a couple small trinkets like jewellery, a fan, a mirror, an extra bow string, a vial of blood, a few longer daggers, exterminator armour, a knife, some hair ties, some herbs, a few maps that would be useless here, a robe of fire rat hair, a couple scrolls, a couple books, my staff and bow with quiver which were tied to the side, and a pouch filled with money from my time and the feudal era. I would have to ask the others if any of them were worth anything. Maybe the mask man… Kakuzu, during dinner he had talked a lot about money.

I sighed slightly as I looked at the stuff. I smiled as I remembered getting the stuff. Kagura had given me the fan, Kanna had given me the mirror, I had picked up the scrolls from villages, the bow string was from Kaede along with my bow which was laid aside, the maps from Sesshomaru, the herbs I had picked myself, most of the daggers and knives were from Totosi, the staff was from Miroku, the armour was from Sango, the robe from Inuyasha, a ring and necklace from Koga and the wolves, the books from Sesshomaru's palace, and the money was my own.

I sighed slightly. I slipped the ring, which looked to be made of deep blue steel and which was from Koga, on. I slid everything else into the dresser or onto the shelf, except the vial of blood. I looked at it closely. Myoga had given it to me. He said a mouth full would heal all and any injuries. He had said it was the blood of a special healing demon. There was enough for three mouthfuls. He also told me the vial was unbreakable but I still treated it with care. I set it on my nightstand and looked at the swirling red blood inside. It was a deeper red then normal blood and always seemed to move or swirl. Suddenly Shippo popped up in front of me.

"Can we play snakes and ladders?" He asked.

I smiled and nodded. He hoorayed and ran to my 'trinket pile'. It held jewellery, small ribbons for hair, gum, Tylenol, dice, cards, small fold-up games, file, and such. Shippo grabbed the small board for snakes and ladders and the dice. Then he grabbed two small players. He sat down on the floor and started to set it up. This started an hour worth of snakes and ladders. Then after that we pulled out my cards and played war, go fish, and other fun games. When I saw that it was getting late I put everything away. I helped Shippo into some pyjamas I had got him a couple years ago and he slipped under the covers curling up. Kirara who had been watching our games also curled up with Shippo. I thought about going to the library and decided to do it in the morning. I just slipped from my kimono into my pyjamas. Then I slid under the covers with Shippo and Kirara. I yawned and cuddled into the soft bed.

.--.

I woke as soon as the door to the room opened. I sat up quickly and saw Tobi poking his head in.

"Good morning Kagome! Will you help Tobi make breakfast?" He asked childishly.

I nodded. He seemed happy and shut the door. I slipped from the covers and went to the bathroom. I had a very quick shower and pulled the kimono on. Then I brushed my hair and let it fan out over my back. Then I tucked my swords into my waist again. I slipped out the door quietly so I wouldn't wake Shippo or Kirara. I walked silently down the hall. I sensed two other people in the place and wondered if they were two other members. I made my way to the kitchen and found Tobi trying to make pancakes. It was a disaster once again. I giggled and helped the masked man out as I pointed out what he should and shouldn't have done. In half an hour we had a stack of pancakes. I now saw that it was about eight. That surprised me. I had slept in and I hadn't had one nightmare last night. And I had felt comfortable enough to sleep. I guessed I liked this place. Tobi set the table and I saw he set two extra places.

"Who else is here?" I asked.

"Kisame and Itachi came back from a mission last night." He sang.

I guessed I would see them later.

"Why don't you go wake everyone?" I asked.

Tobi nodded and skipped off. Not even a second after he left a tall man walked in. He was blue. He looked almost like a shark. His eyes were almost closed and he seemed tired.

"Tobi, make me some coffee." He said.

I grinned and obeyed. I had it ready in a few seconds because I had already started to make some a while ago. I handed him a cup and grabbed the coffee pot. As I started to pour a man with long black hair in a pony tail and who had red eyes walked in. He stopped and looked at me. Kisame held out his cup and leaned back in his chair. I smiled at him and poured the shark his coffee.

"Thanks Tobi." He said.

I held back laughter. He hadn't even realized I wasn't Tobi yet. The tall man squinted slightly.

"That isn't Tobi." The man said.

His voice was emotionless and cold. His face was also emotionless. I smirked at him and he almost scowled.

"What?" Kisame asked.

"I'm not Tobi." I purred in amusement.

The shark's eyes snapped fully opened and he fell back in his chair. Surprisingly he didn't spill a drop of coffee as he landed on his back. He stood and slowly straightened the chair as he looked at me. The two starred at me a moment. Then suddenly Sasori walked in. He looked at the two and me.

"See you're back." He said to the two. "Kagome can you get me some tea?"

"Sure Sasori."

"So who is she?!" Kisame asked.

"Her name is Kagome. She is staying here a while." Sasori answered blankly as he sat down and grabbed some pancakes.

Itachi's POV:

We both looked the woman over. She was smirking slightly. I couldn't even sense her. It was like she wasn't there. I squinted to see, better. All I saw was black hair and a kimono similar to our cloaks. I cursed mentally at my bad eye sight. It was getting so bad everything pretty much blurred together. The woman looked to the door as Deidara walked in. I noticed Deidara was fidgeting a lot.

"Sorry about yesterday Kagome, un." He said.

"What did you do?" Sasori asked.

"Almost blew her up, un."

I noticed Kisame was still starring at her. I was amused that he hadn't even known the girl wasn't Tobi till I had said something. Hidan and Kakuzu and walked in and ignored us as they sat at the table and dug into the delicious looking food. Kagome watched a second later then started to make some tea. I sat down and Kisame slowly did the same. I knew Zetsu wouldn't join us to eat. Then Konan walked in. She sat down and dug in too. It seemed almost everyone was already used to the girl. Pein walked in next. He nodded to us and grinned at Kagome.

"Well Kagome I must admit you are a very good cook."

"Thanks."

Then he sat down and dug in. Kisame and I shrugged slightly and reached for the food. We both started to eat. Finally Tobi skipped in. Kisame and I blinked at the two demons on his shoulder. One was a kitsune and the other was a cat with to tails. They leapt off of Tobi and onto the counter beside Kagome.

"Mom can I have some pancakes?" The kitsune asked.

"Yes dear." Kagome said.

"You're a demon?" Kisame asked.

"No, I'm human but I adopted Shippo." Kagome said.

Shippo nodded. Kagome grabbed some pancakes and handed them to the kit, who dug in. Suddenly Kagome turned and walked to me. She looked at me and I looked at her. The others stopped eating to watch.

"You're eye sight is getting worse. You will be blind in a month."

Everyone starred. I nodded.

"We knew he was going blind, but that soon?" Pein asked.

"Do you wish me to heal you?"

We all gaped at Kagome, well my eyes widened. I glanced at Leader. He nodded to say he trusted her. I looked back at the girl and nodded. She put her hand on my forehead. I felt suddenly pure, calm, relaxed. Kagome stood like that a moment. Then she sighed.

"I can't heal that with my powers it is to complicate for me. And because I know nothing about Chakra or your system."

I almost winced.

"But I have something that will heal it."

We all blinked. Kagome turned to her kit.

"Shippo will you get my vial. The one Myoga gave to me. Don't drop it."

"Okay mom!" He yelled scrambling out the door.

Kagome turned back to the tea which was ready and poured some for the other members. Most watched her curiously now. The kit came back carrying a vial with red liquid in it. He set it on the table and Kagome smiled at him while setting more pancakes on his plate. I inspected the liquid. It was a deeper red then blood and it seemed to move. Kagome walked back and popped the cork out. She frowned for a second. Then she grabbed a cup. She poured a mouthful of the stuff into a cup. She held the cup out to me.

"It isn't poisonous."

I hesitantly took the cup. With one last looked at it I swallowed it all. Kagome watched a second then popped the cork back into the vial. She set the vial by the two tailed cat. I suddenly felt really hot. My throat was warm where the liquid had slid down. My eyes started to hurt. I winced slightly and closed my eyes. The pain went on for another half a minute. Then I opened my eyes. I blinked. I blinked again and looked around. I looked at my hands. Everything was so…clear. I looked up and at everything. I now saw what the other members really looked like, I had known a while ago but I had forgotten as my vision failed. I looked at Kisame and the two demons. Everyone was watching me. I looked them all over then even looked at my hands.

"How bad was your eye sight?" Konan asked.

"I could make out color. But everything just blurred together."

I glanced at Kagome and starred a moment. She had a kimono that was black with red clouds. She had pale-creamy skin. Her eyes were blue like water, and she had long raven black tresses that tumbled over her shoulders to her waist. I noticed that at her waist she had three swords.

"Why do you have three swords on?" I asked.

Everyone blinked.

"I've been meaning to ask that." Pein said.

"I wear three swords because they are my most prized possessions. Tetsusaiga came from my friend."

She pointed to the first on.

"Tenseiga came from my sensei."

She pointed to another.

"And I got Tokega special made for me by a famous smith."

I looked them over.

"Are they strong or do they have any special details?" Kisame asked curiously.

Kagome finger the hilt of one.

"One is really strong, one is not for fighting, and the other is my own special one."

"So what do they do?" Kisame asked.

"Tetsusaiga has a special energy attack, Tenseiga will not hurt you, and Tokega is my illusionary sword, it bends stuff."

"What do you mean Tenseiga will not hurt you?" I asked.

"I'll show you."

She pulled the sword free and looked us over.

"I need a volunteer."

Then she smirked.

"Deidara, you're up."

Deidara gulped and stood. He took a step forwards and before we could blink Tenseiga was sticking through his heart. Sasori glared and stood. We all tensed. I doubted that anyone had been prepared for her to betray us. Then she ripped the sword from Deidara. We expected Deidara to fall dead but he just blinked.

"What, un?" He asked.

He pulled his cloak open and there was no wound.

"I could swear I felt that sword go straight though me, un."

Everyone sat gaping. Kagome grinned. She spun and slashed Deidara in half. He didn't even fall. He opened his mouth then shut it as he felt his chest.

"How?" Sasori asked.

"Simple, Tenseiga is not a sword to kill with. It is a sword of healing."

"So you can heal wounds with it?" Konan asked.

"No. It is used for a greater purpose but I won't tell you just yet."

We nodded slightly.

"Can I see Tetsusaiga?" Kisame asked.

Kagome blinked then nodded. She held out the sheath to him and he pulled the sword out. We frowned at it. She had said it was strong but it looked old and rusted.

"I could break this with my bare hands. How is it strong?" Kisame asked.

"Try to break it." Kagome said.

Kisame sniffed and tried. He tried for a minute before giving up. Then suddenly it looked as if a light bulb had lit up in his head. He walked out of the room. He came back a minute later with Samehade. Kagome blinked at the sword. Kisame stuck the Tetsiaga with his large scaly sword but it didn't even chip. In fact Kisame was pushed back by the blow.

"So it may be almost unbreakable but you said it was strong and had a special energy attack." Kisame said.

Kagome nodded.

"It is a special sword that will transform for any half demon."

"There aren't very many half demons." Sasori said.

"Correct."

"Why won't it transform for a human?" Kisame asked.

"It will if you can get past the barrier on it. There is a barrier on it that stops any demon from touching it and stops any human from wielding its true power."

"So can you get past the barrier?" I asked.

"Yes. My powers let me get past it."

"Can we see, un?"

Kagome shrugged. Kisame held the sword out to her hilt first. Kagome stuck the sheath in her waist and grabbed the hilt. She pulled back and suddenly as if a scanner was ran over the sword it started to change. We all gaped at the huge sword. It almost looked like a fang. At the hilt was a piece of something fluffy too. The sword was bigger then Kisame's. Kagome held it in one hand too. We gaped at the sword a minute. Then Kagome stuck the end in the sheath. I wondered how it would fit back in. As she slid the sword in it turned small in a flash of yellow-white. I scowled at the soaked sleeve of her kimono. It hadn't been like that before.

"Mommy! You're bleeding!" Shippo yelled.

Kagome nodded. She stuck all her sword into her obi and slowly rolled her on sleeve up. We all winced. Her whole arm had blood dripping off of it. Kagome clicked her tongue and moved to the sink.

"We should bandage what ever wound that is." Konan said.

"I guess so." Kagome said.

Then she looked at us.

"I had better not hear any comments."

We blinked wondering what about. Suddenly she slid her arms out of the whole top of the kimono showing everything waist up. She had a band that covered her breasts but I still saw the others grin. Suddenly their grins vanished as they saw her shoulder. It was covered in blood. Tobi jumped up and got a cloth. He wet it and helped Kagome wipe the blood off of her shoulder. As soon as the blood was gone we all saw a huge black tattoo that was on her right shoulder. It came down her arm to a little above her elbow. It also was on her shoulder blade and down to her cleavage. We all starred. The blood seemed to seep from the black tattoo. The tattoo seemed to be small symbols and words in the shape of a large blooming flower.

"What is that?" Pein asked quietly.

"This is what a curse looks like." Kagome whispered.

"A curse?" Konan asked.

"I battled someone and just before they died they cursed me. My miko powers softened the curse so it didn't change me."

"Mommy got it and now every time she tries to use a weapon or fight with that arm the curse makes her bleed."

The cat meowed.

"And gives her pain." The kit finished.

I now noticed the Kagome's teeth were gritted and her hands clenched the counter top till her knuckles were white. The wound seemed to be forcing her blood out.

"The curse is trying to taint me."

We looked up at her.

"It wants to turn me into a dark miko. I'll give you my warning now. If that happens, run, run as fast and far as you can. If my eyes turn black and my powers turn black I will have lost myself. I will kill everyone and everything."

We watched her a moment then nodded.

"Why not heal it or destroy the tattoo?" Sasori asked.

"It wouldn't heal, and the curse is in my blood. The tattoo would just return later."

We watched her. Tobi helped wipe the blood away and Shippo watched her anxiously as Kagome stayed tense with the pain. When the curse stopped bleeding, Kagome sighed. Tobi stepped back.

"I have to go change now." She said.

We nodded. Her kit and the cat followed her, along with Tobi. We finished the breakfast we had been distracted from.

Kagome's POV:

I walked back to my room. I knew Tobi had followed. He stood and asked if I needed help. I told him no. I grabbed a clean outfit of mine. I pulled on the deep blue Haori and the deep blue hakamas. The haori also had splashes of silver, but no icy blues. Then I pulled on a black obi. I slid my swords in the obi and pulled on some small shoes like Sesshomaru's. I thanked Sesshomaru over and over in my mind. Tobi took my Kimono and said he would wash it. Kirara and Shippo had followed him. They seemed to like him. I sat on the edge of my bed. I sighed as remembered Sesshomaru.

The great stoic, cold, cruel, taiyoukai had trained me a while ago. It had been after I had been trained by the miko. He had found me and took me to his castle. He had personally taught me hand to hand combat, swordsmanship, and how to use daggers and knives. He had got one of his guards to teach me the spear, bow, and axe. It had been hard training but more then worth the half a year. I had learned very quickly. Sesshomaru said I had been born to hold a weapon. I would never have guessed that.

Well I spent half a year with him and learned all that along with stealth, tracking, and how to survive in the wilderness. He had also taught me about running an army and commanding others. He had even got a scholar to teach me lessons. I had learned up to a college level in math, science, biology, zoology, and other subjects. I had crammed all this into six months. My miko powers had helped a lot. They had healed me when I had got injured and since they had enhanced all my abilities I could stay up longer and tax my body more. It had happened in a blur.

Then the last lesson Sesshomaru had taught me was pain. It had been a nightmare. He had said I needed to learn how to take pain and how to inflict it. He had had his top interrogator a.k.a. torturer, teach me. This meant the man had tortured me, while giving me lessons. I shivered at the memory. I was actually missing parts of my memory from that. He had tortured and 'taught' me for over three weeks and I had blacked out a lot. But after a while I could take quite a bit of pain. With out those lessons I would have been screaming from the pain my curse gave me. I shivered again. It had helped but I never wished to repeat that, ever again.

Sesshomaru had said my training was done after that. I had been thankful. Sesshomaru and I hadn't been very good friends even though he had taught me. We had been neutral which worked out well for my training. It had meant he had never gone easy on me, never let up, and pushed me to my limits. This helped because it made me learn more. I had tried to get Sango to teach me the sword but she had always been easy on me and she had always gone easy and tried not to hurt me. She had never taught or spared with me for real because she had been worried about me. That had meant I had never really learned.

When Sesshomaru had taken me under his wing he had been ruthless. It had been painful but I had learned a lot more. Well when we parted we broke the neutral agreement. We were no longer sensei and apprentice we were once again enemies. I had almost hoped to hurt him for the pain he had caused me but then I always remembered how much I had gained from that pain. I just sighed and stood.


	18. Kitsune Kagome : Crossover

Kagome ran as fast as her feet could carry her. She was out of breath but she continued to run. The trees tore at her skin and the bushes wrapped around her feet but she ran on, tripping only to get up and run again. Suddenly she burst from the thick trees into a clearing. It looked at first to be an ordinary clearing but as Kagome paused to glance around she gasped. It was full of flowers and large healthy plants. It was like a garden. She saw cave off to the side too. She didn't stop though. She attempted to run out of the clearing an on as she had been doing but as she moved, vines wrapped around her feet. They held her to the ground and the trees vanished behind large vines and plants that grew up. Kagome gulped and realized she was in some demons territory.

"What do we have here?" A voice purred.

Kagome stiffened and attempted to turn around, but the vines had crept up her and held her firm around the waist and arms and even her neck. It was a few measly vines but they were god damn strong.

"A human female? And a pretty one." The voice said huskily.

Kagome shivered not wanting to know what was going on through his head. Suddenly the man stepped in front of her. She could only stare. The man had long silver hair that was longer then hers. On his head he had ears like Inuyasha but silver. Behind him was a long silvery tail that looked a bit like Koga's. He was very handsome. She could tell he was a kitsune too. She starred at him. He grinned as he looked her over. She had never been more conscious then now. She wore a deep green kimono but it felt like she was naked under his gaze. She wasn't very comfortable. She waited for him to make a move.

"What are you doing in my garden?"

She blinked at the question. 'Garden?' She glanced around and realized most of the plants didn't belong there and weren't natural. 'He made this place.' She realized

"So are you going to answer my question?" He asked.

"I was running."

"I could see that."

"I was running from someone and I stumbled in here. I would usually have sensed you before I got close but I wasn't paying attention."

He grinned again.

"So are you an ordinary human?"

"No. I'm a miko."

With that he jumped twenty feet away and scowled slightly.

"I won't hurt you. I'm different from most mikos. I won't hurt demons unless I have to."

He raised a brow.

"I even have an adopted kit…"

Kagome trailed off. Then she burst into tears and if the vines hadn't been holding her she would have collapsed. She barely noticed that they slowly lowered her to the ground. She had kept the sorrow bottled up till now. She cried her eyes out not carrying who saw. She faintly registered the arms wrapping around her, and the warm chest she cried into.

"What happened?" Came the kitsune's voice.

"I travelled with a demon slayer, a monk, a neko, my kit, and a half demon for two years looking for the Shikon no tama shards and trying to kill Naraku. I fell in love with the hanyou, but he loved my incarnate. She's dead but was brought back to life. But I still have half of her soul in me and she only has a clay body. Just today the hanyou mated with her after saying he loved me. Then he attacked me trying to get her soul back. I got away but he killed my kit. It hurts." She said between sobs.

He stroked her hair as she sobbed into his chest. She wondered why but didn't ask questions. After about half an hour she slowly stopped the tears. She looked up at the kitsune rubbing the tears away.

"I'm sorry about getting you wet." She half laughed half sobbed.

He gave her a soft smile.

"I'm Youko Kurama. Sorry about your kit. I heard about your group a lot. Lots of demons mention you. And Naraku came to me once offering me tainted shards if I killed you."

Kagome looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"I could smell the evil on him and refused."

"And you lived?"

"I'm safe in my garden. It's safer to me then a castle." He smiled.

She gave him a watery smile.

"I'm sorry about barging in and crying like that. I'm Kagome."

"Well Kagome I'm sorry again about you kit. I know hard it must be."

"He was my closest friend and family." She sobbed.

"Why don't you stay here the night?"

She sniffed and gave a nod.

..--..

Youko led her into the cave. She was asleep before he even laid her down. He could smell her sorrow and misery along with her hate. She seemed broken a bit. Kurama laid her on the moss bed and stroked her hair. She was really beautiful. He would have tried to seduce her but he could understand her grief. And if he tried it would probably make it worse and she might lash out at him. And he didn't want a miko lashing out at him. He did have some protection against a miko in his garden but a full blast of miko powers would really hurt and this was the most powerful of all mikos, the Shikon no miko. He new her story was true because one he saw half of the jewel on her necklace and two he knew Sesshomaru. They were close friends and Sesshomaru had talked about the miko and his half brother Inuyasha a few times. Youko sighed softly and walked back outside. He wondered what was going to happen now. The plants had been talking of change for a while, but he wondered if this was what they had meant.

..--..

The next day when Kagome woke Youko gave her some food and sat her down. She told him her whole tale right up to the betrayal where she cried again. After a while they talked and Youko persuaded her to stay and rest. She agreed. She stayed for three days and just rested, talked, and gardened with him. Over the time they got closer. In the end Kagome decided to stay and take lessons from him. He didn't mind at all. So for a year he taught her all about plants, how to wield a whip, how to do hand to hand combat, and taught her about Kitsunes. He also helped her learn how to use her miko powers to do the same things to plants he did, like make a whip from a rose or a seed. She got it down right away. Her natural element was earth so she said she found it quite easy.

Over the six months they became close. Not romantically close, but more like brother and sister close. At the end of the year Kagome had learned everything he could teach, even about stealing. But at the end of the year Kagome asked if he knew a good swordsman. He said yes and they left the garden to go see him. Youko hadn't told her who the swordsman was so when they showed up on the doorstep of the western lord's castle and met Sesshomaru Kagome was stunned. Youko had a good laugh about that, until Kagome smacked him to shut him up.

The three had a long conversation and in the end Sesshomaru agreed to let them stay. So for another year Kagome trained with Sesshomaru and when he was out, with his generals. Kagome learned the blade and how to wield a knife along with a few other techniques. She was also taught how to command an army, tactics and strategies, how to survive in the wilderness better, how to run a castle, and such from the soldiers, generals, and such people. She also learned things from the maids, cooks, and other people when she sat with them after her lessons. And somehow she managed to get time to stay in the library and keep up on her studies.

Then at the end of the year Sesshomaru adopted her. They went through a ceremony and became tied by shared blood. The blood also did something to her, bringing out the demon blood in her or something. She grew icy blue almost silver fox ears and a fox tail. She grew fangs and a tail too. And her eyes turned a blue that was between dark blue and icy blue, with some gold flecks. Sesshomaru and Youko informed her she had become a rare ice kitsune. And Sesshomaru became immune to spiritual powers that were weaker then Kagomes, which were most spiritual powers.

Then she and Youko repeated the ceremony. Youko also became immune to spiritual powers and Kagome got earth powers. So she was an ice kitsune with powers over plants. It was awesome as she said. The two males had agreed that they would look out for her but never would consider themselves brothers. To Kagome it was the most well spent two years of her life. But she knew the final battle was drawing closer. And she was correct. One day a scout ran in an informed lord Sesshomaru that Naraku was battling Kikyo, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Kirara, and Koga. Sesshomaru immediately alerted them and took off. Youko and Kagome were quick to follow him.

..--..

Kagome sighed as they ran through the trees at break neck speed, a blur to the human eye. She looked forwards and sighed again.

"Sighing to much can't be healthy for you." Youko said.

Kagome rolled her eyes and sighed again. She sniffed the air testily. She scowled softly and looked to Youko.

"Go one without me. There is something I have to do."

"Now?! Can't you do it later?!"

"No."

With that she was gone. Youko hurried forwards muttering about stupid sisters.

Kagome shot towards the deeper part of the forest they were in. She wrapped her miko powers around her hiding her scent and powers. She slowed as she reached a clearing. She sat high in a tree and watched carefully. Below was Hakudoushi. Akago was also there. She watched them with narrowed eyes. Akago sat in Hakudoushi's lap. They didn't look to happy.

"You are sure there is no way to get his heart out of me?" Akago asked.

"No. Unless I kill you, you are his heart. And I can't kill you since if you die I die." Hakudoushi grumbled.

Kagome smirked. This bit of info would work to her advantage. She dropped from the trees making the two spin to look at her. She grinned and called forth some ice. Before the two knew it Hakudoushi had ice freezing him waist down, to the ground. The ice crept over his arms holding Akago in place too. Not that the baby could do anything.

"Kagome." Hakudoushi said with narrowed eyes.

Kagome raised a brow. Few enemies cared to remember her name let alone call her by it. To them she was miko, wench, or bitch. Hakudoushi squinted even more.

"Miko and Kitsune?"

Kagome smirked. Then she whipped out a knife. Hakudoushi snarled at her. She clicked her tongue.

"You are of the same flesh yes?" She asked.

"Sort of. We are in a sense the same person, but living apart has given us each separate minds and personalities." Hakudoushi answered slowly.

"So you are like two people, yet one. Like twins."

He gave a wary nod, not taking his eyes of her knife. She grinned. She tucked the knife away and the two blinked at her. She slapped her hands together as if praying. She started to chant a spell under her breath as her now blue miko surfaced. She had learned that chanting the spell helped control it better and had more effect. The two now watched with wide eyes. Her miko powers took the shape of some symbols and then shot to the two. The words/miko powers wrapped around the two in a circle, hovering inches above their skin. Then the words enlarged and started to circle the two really fast making a large blue swirling band. The band started to shrink till it touched the two. Finally there was a bright flash of blue. When the blue faded Kagome grinned. In front of her stood two five year old boys that resembled both Akago and Hakudoushi. They had purple hair that fell to their shoulders and both had violet eyes and white outfits. They glanced at each other opened mouthed.

"There. I took Naraku's heart from you and gave it back to Naraku and separated your soul, dividing it evenly amongst you two. You will have the same knowledge and personality as before, you just look different. Distributing you soul evenly made you twins and made you look the same. If you add an infant and a ten year old and divide them evenly you get two five year olds." She grinned.

They starred at one another then up at her. They both grinned boldly. Then Hakudoushi ran to grab his spear, while Akago tried to walk. Kagome went to held Hakudoushi while Akago quickly learned to walk. Kagome once again used her powers on the boys spear to shrink it so it fit him better.

"You should have all of your abilities too." She said.

"Thank you." Akago bowed.

Hakudoushi followed his example. Kagome smiled.

"Come on. Let's go kill Naraku."

They grinned and leapt into the trees. They were both still demons so they could run as fast as her. They ran through the trees in silence. As they got close enough they could hear the sounds of battle. They finally leapt from the trees into the fray of battle. Hakudoushi and Akago stayed together. It seemed Akago had some sort of psychic abilities so he was fine. Kagome pulled her sword free and leapt towards Naraku. She froze all the demons she ran by ready. As she finally reached Naraku she found Inuyasha and Sesshomaru fighting him.

She ignored both and chopped at the mass of tentacles. Usually they would just regenerate but she froze the tips much to his anger. The battle lasted about ten minutes as they all fought the demons and tentacles. Kagome was the first to reach Naraku. He laughed as she saw an opening and stabbed her sword in his heart. But he soon realized he had a heart. He froze and looked at her in horror. She smirked and looked towards the twins. They waved and Naraku paled. Then in a blast of her miko powers he was nothing but a pile of dust. Everything changed after that. The last few of the demon horde flew off at top speed, Kagura leapt for joy and hugged her much to everyone's surprise, Kanna dropped her mirror letting it shatter while smiling, and Kohaku cried out and ran to his sister who hugged him. The others all starred at Kagome. She grinned at all of them.

She picked up the piece of jewel Naraku had had and walked to Sesshomaru. They spoke quietly a moment then headed to Kohaku. Sango gulped as she saw the jewel in Kagome's hand. Kagome didn't even say anything. She just pulled the shard from Kohaku's back making him die. Then Sesshomaru pulled his Tenseiga free and swiped it over the boy. Kohaku woke a second later and had a second reunion with his sister. Kagome then walked to Koga who already held his jewel pieces in his hand. He handed them to Kagome with a grin. Kagome took them gratefully and held all the jewel pieces in her hand. In a bright flash of pink she held the whole jewel. She looked at it a moment. Then she looked around the field at all the people standing around.

"The jewel is yours." She heard a voice whisper from the jewel.

She looked down at it then whispered her wish.

"I wish my soul to be copied and given to Kikyo so she may live again."

The jewel surrounded Kagome in a pink light. Then it pulled a white orb from her. She grinned as it flew and sunk into Kikyo. In a flash of pink Kikyo stood there with blue kitsune ears and a blue kitsune tail. She gaped and looked up. She had always looked similar to Kagome and now they even looked more similar.

"You copied your soul for her?" Sesshomaru asked loudly.

Everyone starred at her and she gave a nod. The jewel was still glowing. Sesshomaru saw this and leaned over it.

"I wish for her kit to be alive."

Kagome's eyes widened. There was a bright flash. And Shippo appeared beside them. He looked stunned a moment. Then he blinked and looked up at Kagome. He sniffed and lunged at her.

"Kagome!"

"Shippo." She sobbed.

They hugged while they cried. Everyone sort of looked away and let the two have their moment. When they finally dried their tears they laughed softly. Then Kagura cleared her throat.

"I wish to apologize for anything I have done to you."

Everyone starred at her. She snapped her fan open hiding the bottom half of her face.

"What? It wasn't like I had a choice."

Everyone still starred at her. They hadn't seen this side of her.

"I apologize also." Kanna whispered in her ghostly voice.

Everyone nodded. She had never seemed very evil. Suddenly Koga was beside Kagome his hands clasping hers.

"I am off to my clan. Ayame is waiting."

"Finally gave in, eh?" Kagome grinned.

He blushed and gave a curt nod.

"If you ever need anything come see me."

Then he shot off. Next came Sango and Miroku. They clasped their hands. They hugged Kagome together smiling.

"It was fun traveling with you Kagome." Miroku grinned.

"We'll miss you." Sango sniffed.

"I'll miss you too."

Then the two stepped back. Kirara stepped forwards and licked Kagome's face once in farewell. Then the two hopped onto her. Kohaku came up and thanked her and Sesshomaru. Then he also took off with Kirara and the two. Kagome watched them fly away. Then Inuyasha and Kikyo stepped forwards. Inuyasha was looking at the ground and his ears were twitching. He looked very ashamed.

"I'm sorry about hurting Shippo." He muttered.

"It's not his fault." Kikyo spoke softly.

Everyone looked at her.

"I was controlling him."

Kagome tilted her head and nodded. Shippo just looked up at her.

"Sit boy."

Inuyasha collided with the ground.

"Hey what did you do that for wench?!" He yelled.

"That's the Inuyasha I know. You are forgiven."

Inuyasha quieted and stood up. Kikyo bowed.

"I'm sorry for the trouble I caused. Thank you for the soul."

"Yeah. You're welcome and apology accepted." Kagome said.

The two then shot off together. Kagura and Kanna walked up to Sesshomaru.

"May we work for you in the west?"

Sesshomaru gave a lazy blink.

"I will allow you to stay in the castle as advisors."

Kagome clapped with a grin. Kanna and Kagura bowed their heads and stepped to the side to wait. Hakudoushi and Akago stepped forwards earning blinks from all the others.

"May we stay with you?" They asked Kagome.

She gave a grin and a nod. They each stepped on either side of her and held her hands. They looked up at her with smiles like they were the perfect children.

"Kagome…" Youko said.

Kagome looked up.

"Will you have to go to your time now?" He asked.

Kagome opened her mouth then snapped it shut. She sighed softly.

"I only have three days here. Then I must return."

Youko's ears wilted. Sesshomaru looked at her a minute.

"Then let us get back." He said.

Everyone nodded. Kagura pulled a feather from her air and shot into the sky with Kanna. Sesshomaru also rose on his cloud and the three flew side by side. Kagome and the twins just leapt into the trees with Youko. It took a little longer to get to the castle then it had to get to the battle field. As they arrived the sun was setting. They touched down and many guards cheered at them. The maids already had dinner ready and then hurried off to make extra rooms for their guests. They small group walked in to be met by Rin and Jaken. Rin just laughed and started to talk to Shippo and the twins while Jaken started to ramble on about Naraku's evil reincarnations. Most ignored him. They walked to the dinning room and sat down to eat while talking. Kagome sat beside Sesshomaru and they started to talk in low tones with Youko as not to be over heard.

"So you must leave?" Sesshomaru asked.

Kagome sighed and nodded.

"What of Shippo?" Youko asked.

"I do not think of him as a son but more of as a best friend. I wish him to stay here. He can grow up and train. If he comes with me he won't get as good of training and it will be too big of a change for him." Kagome said.

"And of the other two?" Sesshomaru asked glancing at the twins.

"That is Hakudoushi and Akago. I met with them and took Naraku's heart from them. Then I kind of took their souls and divided them equally changing them from one ten year old and one, one year old and making two five year olds. They are practically the same person, but split into twins."

Sesshomaru gave a smirk.

"And you like them."

"There just so cute!"

Sesshomaru smirked again and Youko sighed swishing his tail.

"So, you must leave in three days?" The kitsune asked.

"I have tomorrow and the day after tomorrow I must leave, in the evening." She said.

"And how do you know?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Jewel." She said pointing to the pink marble around her neck.

"It is still here? I thought it would vanish after the wish." Youko said.

"I did too. But it seems that nothing can destroy it. It always has power but the wishes take a lot of power out of it. It has to take time to recharged to power to give more wishes. It will just slowly take power from me and the earth till then." Kagome said.

"And how do you know this?" Sesshomaru asked again.

"It talked to me." She said.

They raised brows at her.

"Midoriko's spirit talked to me through it." She said exasperated

The two shrugged. Then the three returned to talking with the others and eating. After that everyone set off to rest. Kagome led the twins and Shippo to her room in the north wing. When she reached it she changed then flopped down on her bed. The twins curled up on either side of her and Shippo slept by her head in the crook of her neck. Kagome drifted off quite comfortable.

..--..

The next day was filled with showing the twins and Shippo around, playing with Rin, training, doing some reading, and spending time with Sesshomaru and Youko. It went by too fast for Kagome's liking. The next day Kagome woke up feeling tired and sad. She spent the day packing, saying goodbye to everyone, and telling the others the plan. At dinner Kagome stood in the courtyard. Her friends and such gathered around. Enti, Hakudoushi's still loyal steed, had returned to him and stood ready for Kagome, after agreeing to give her a ride to the well. Kagome gave everyone a last farewell and told them all they had better survive so they could see her in her time. Then she grabbed her bags and scrambled on the demon horse. Hakudoushi and Akago also jumped on in front of her looking quite happy. Kagome waved to everyone as the horse leapt into the air.

When they reached the well Kagome and the twins slid off the horse. They stood by the well and told Enti to be good. The twins each gave the horse a hug and Kagome kissed his muzzle. They watched him fly off and then turned to the well. She tossed her bags in and then grabbed the twins by one of their hands. Hey jumped into the well with her bags and were soon surrounded by a bright blue light. As they finally touched the bottom the blue light shattered like glass. Kagome sniffed and then grabbed her bags. All three jumped from the well and stepped to the well house door. They pulled it open letting the setting suns light fall on them.

Kagome sighed softly and grabbed the twin's hands again. They trudged across the shrine yard to the house. She hadn't been back in almost two years, since she had met Youko. Kagome scowled and sniffed the air. Something was wrong. She didn't smell her mother's, grandfather's, or brother's scent. And there were no lights on. She slowly opened the door and led the two inside. She scowled as they walked in. there was a layer of dust on everything. She got a sinking feeling. She walked to the kitchen and saw a large folder lying on the table. She let go of the twin's hands and dropped her bags. She slowly picked the folder up and tore it open. She pulled out the first letter.

_To Miss Kagome Higurashi,_

_We regret to inform you of the death of your mother, grandfather, and brother. They died on October 15__th__ in a car accident. A large semi crashed into the car killing all three instantly. We could not contact you because we knew not of your whereabouts. We contacted close family friends and they said your grandfather had informed them due to your poor health you had left the country for rest. We could find no leads so we could not inform you of the news. You have our apologies. Inside the folder are your families will and other papers._

_Signed the hospital and police of Tokyo_

Kagome let the paper drop to the table. She let the tears pour over her face as she reached for the folder again. She opened it with shaky hands and read over the papers that told her how much money she had left in her account and what she had inherited, which included the shrine. She let a soft sob escape. The twins just walked up to her and hugged her letting her cry. After she had stopped crying she led the twins to her mother's room. They brushed the dust off the large bed and all curled up on it.

"We have some work to do tomorrow." She said.

"We can see that." They sighed.

Kagome let out a small laugh before drifting off.

..--..

Kagome woke with the sun from the window falling in on her. She sat up waking the twins. They yawned and blinked at her. She looked at them.

"We'll start to clean, then we'll get the rooms organized."

They nodded.

"First thing to do is open all the windows." She smiled.

They grinned and jumped up. Then they ran off. Kagome just smiled. She had thought they would be quite intelligent and mature. But it seemed that even though they were intelligent they were childish. They acted their age you could say. Not that she minded. Kagome sighed softly again and jumped up. She moved to the window and opened it. As soon as all the windows were open the three started to sweep and dust like crazy, filling the house with dust. It took two hours to get all the dust and cobwebs out. Once that was done the three started to mop and wash. When that was finally done they sat back and looked at the clean sparkly house.

"Finally done." Kagome sighed.

"Yeah." The twins agreed.

"Now let's go find some of my brother's clothes that might fit you. Then we can go out shopping."

The twins looked excited at the prospect of going to look around her world. They hurried inside and to her brother's room. Kagome sorted through some of his boxes till she found some clothes that might fit them. When they were dressed, each in some jeans, and a different colored t-shirt, Kagome returned to her room and sorted through her clothes. She couldn't find any that would fit her anymore so settled for some of her mom's old clothes since all she had brought from the feudal era was kimonos and training clothes. Kagome also threw an illusion to hide her ears and tail.

When they were all dressed they set off down the shrine stairs. The two held her hands tightly starring at everything. The first thing she did was take them to a restaurant and get some lunch. They awed over the food and people and everything while they ate. When they were done Kagome paid and led them back out into the street. They caught the bus and rode downtown. The bus was even more exciting to the twins then riding Enti. When they reached their stop Kagome had to drag them off.

They went to a clothes store first and picked out everything the twins and she would need. They paid the clerk and hurried out carrying their bags. Kagome then stopped at a few other stores ordering some things. Then she held the twins off to the grocery store. They were as excited as on the bus. Kagome even let them ride in the cart which they said was as fun as the bus too. They grabbed everything they needed and then walked back to the bus stop, each carrying some bags. They caught the bus back home and talked the whole way as the twins asked question upon question.

When they reached the shrine, the two practically dragged Kagome up the stairs. When they reached the house they piled in and set their stuff down. They helped Kagome put all the groceries away then moved to the bedrooms. Kagome decided the twins could share Souta's room. With some hesitation she helped the twins sort through all of Souta's stuff. They boxed up the stuff they didn't need or want and kept the stuff they did. When that was done they stacked everything in the hall. Kagome walked to the storage shed and pulled out the brushes and paint. The twins chose a light purple for two of the walls, and a dark purple for the other two walls, and black for the ceiling. Amazingly they had all the colors in the shed the twins wanted. They started to paint talking the whole time and Kagome told them basic laws and rules of her world.

When the painting was finally done they moved onto her old room. They helped her move her old bed out along with most of her old stuff. They decided to make this an office of sorts. She said she was going to home school them for a while too, so they could use the room as a school room. They cleaned it out and then painted it a deep green. Then they moved onto her grandfather's room. This room was painted a deep blue and was going to be a spare room. Finally they moved onto her mom's room. Kagome decided to use it as her room. They painted it icy blue color. Then they spent the rest of the day downstairs as the paint dried. As the sun set they found the rooms to still be drying so the twins slept on the floor in the living room beside Kagome.

..--..

When they woke the next morning Kagome made some breakfast. They ate and talked about the plans. Then they glanced out the door. There were some large boxes of things waiting. The twins blinked at them but Kagome smiled.

"I ordered some things yesterday, seems they were delivered."

The twins smiled and helped her move them in. One was a bunk bed, which required some assembly. The twins watched as Kagome opened the box and pulled out the pieces. Then helped her get the tools they needed. They watched in amusement as Kagome tried to read the instructions and put it together properly. She sighed finally and the twins took over. Akago, with his small physic powers lifted the pieces while Hakudoushi with the help of Kagome screwed them together. After about an hour an half the thing was set up. They all cheered and grabbed the mattresses. They set the beds up with the white sheets and blankets. The boys argued about who got top and who got bottom for about a minute. Then they added some shelves to the room, along with a desk and two chairs. They put all the clothes in the closet and put the toys and gadgets away.

Then Kagome with the help of the two moved her desk back into the office along with two smaller desks. They set up some shelves and posters to. Then they moved the bed and such back into the spare room. Finally they moved to her room. They set everything up and headed downstairs. They reorganized the living room and moved in some new furniture in that Kagome had got. After that they had some late lunch. Then Kagome sent to two out to play in the shrine while she did chores around the shrine yard and cleaned the rest of the shrine. That night when she had tucked the twins in she fell into her bed and slept like she was unconscious.

..--..

For a month they three stayed close to the shrine. Kagome would spend the mornings till lunch working on her studies and teaching Akago and Hakudoushi (the last whom she started to call Haku for short) all the stuff they would learn in elementary. They caught on in a flash and as soon as she had taught them they learned faster then ever. Like when she taught them to add, subtract, multiply, and divide they went from a grade three level all the way to a grade seven level in a day. It made her life a lot easier.

Then after lessons they would have lunch. Then they would go outside and train. She started to teach them hand to hand combat and she helped Haku learn how to wield his spear better. She also started Akago on the axe. She also trained her self when she had free time. Then after a couple hours of that they would do the few chores around the shrine. Then they had dinner. After that they either went shopping, just relaxed, or trained more. She also worked on the barriers she put around the shrine, improving them and strengthening them.

After the first month the two didn't need the whole morning for lessons. So they only did lessons for about an hour or two or just read. Then they would do the same routine as before but more training and free time. Kagome also took them and showed them around the city once in a while. During the first month Kagome hadn't seen or heard from Sesshomaru or Youko. She was a bit worried but there was nothing she could do but wait. After three months of being back and not hearing from the two she was annoyed as well as worried. But still couldn't do anything but wait.

..--..

Kagome woke to loud knocking. She rolled from her bed and fell on the floor with a grunt. She stumbled from her room and dashed down the stairs throwing an illusion on. She ripped the door opened and blinked at the boy in front of it. He had slicked back black hair and wore a school uniform.

"Yes?" Kagome asked.

"I came here to talk with an old man."

Kagome's eye twitched.

"Who?"

"I was sent by Genkai. She runs a shrine on the other side of town. She told me that I would find an old man, a lady, a teen, and a kid that owned this shrine. She said I was to ask the old man for something." He grumbled.

"And you came this early."

He gave her an odd look.

"It's lunch time."

Kagome felt a vain pop.

"HAKU, AKAGO!" She yelled.

He heard twin yelps and saw the twins run from the back of the house and start to run to look for somewhere to hide.

"Did you turn my alarm off again?" She asked growling.

"Yes." The two laughed.

"You wait till I get my hands on you!"" She threatened making chocking signs as they vanished from sight.

She turned back to the boy who snickered.

"Well is the old man here?"

"I'm sorry my grandfather, mother, and brother died in an accident." She said.

He blinked.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

"It's fine."

"Wait! You mean I walked all the way here and he's gone!" He yelled.

Kagome gave a nod. The boy's eye twitched.

"Damn old bat." He muttered. "Well sorry for bothering you."

"What did you need?"

He blinked.

"What did you need to ask my grandfather for?" She asked.

"The old bat, I mean Genkai, sent me to buy some herbs and get an artefact he had." The boy said.

"What herbs and artefact?" She asked.

The boy rooted around in his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. It had a list of herbs and a picture of a dagger. She looked it over.

"I can get them for you." She smiled.

The boy sighed in relief.

"Follow me."

She headed out back to the back of the house. At the back she had set up a large iron fence that took up most of the back of the house, all the way to the forest edge. She opened the gate and made the boy wait outside. She shut the gate behind her. She couldn't have regular people walk in here. It had plants from the feudal era and from the present time. But most she had grown with her miko powers and the powers she got from Youko. So most of the plants were more alive, meaning they moved, grew at random times, bound intruders, and would eat people. She also had a death tree. Quite dangerous to those it didn't like.

Kagome wandered through the paths and plants. When she found the small clump of herbs she needed she picked them gently and held them in her arms. When she had everything she needed she walked back to the gate. She slipped out and led the boy towards the shrine house. She walked in and down the row of shelves. She grabbed a basket at one point and put the herbs in gently. Then she handed it to the boy. He in return handed her some money saying the old bat had said to pay for the herbs.

She soon found the dagger. It was quite easy. She had sorted through all the objects and put the most dangerous ones in one place, so she could get around to purifying them later. She starred at it a moment. She had stuck it in the dangerous place because it had a curse on it. 'Can't give it to the boy or the woman he's getting it for.' She thought. Kagome turned to face the boy who was looking around warily and shivering slightly like he could sense the evil of the objects.

"I'm sorry but it seems the object you want is an old family heirloom and its one of my favourite so I can't give it to you." She sighed.

He scowled slightly but gave a nod. She led him back out of the place not noticing the scowled he sent at all the objects. When they stepped out of the place Kagome locked the door. She noticed the boy looking impatient.

"If you need any more herbs feel free to come see me."

He gave a nod then stuffed his hands in his pockets, the basket on his arm. He set off down the shrine steps and Kagome watched him go. When she felt him leave her barrier she spun around. She sensed the twins in the tree and leapt up it. They squeaked as she landed in front of them grinning. She said their punishment for tricking her was to run a lap around the shrine. They gave her a look that said 'that's it?' She just grinned and made them run before leaping right into their training…after she changed from her pyjamas.

After that was finished and they had finished an dearly dinner they pleaded with her to let them go to the park that was a block away. She relented and let them go telling them to come home before dark. She wasn't too worried about them since they had mastered most of her hand to hand combat training. She grinned as she watched them leave. It was a couple hours of peace for her. She just stretched and went inside to read.

..--..

Yusuke scowled to himself as he walked away from the shrine. When he stepped off the last stair he got the same feeling as when he had first stepped on it. It felt like he was going through something, like a centimetre of water or something. Like something was there that he couldn't see. He could faintly sense something but it was like it wasn't there so he couldn't tell what it was. He shook the thoughts off as he hurried down the streets. When he found the meeting place he stepped into the alley. A moment later a blue portal opened up. Yusuke hoped in and hopped out at Genkai's shrine. He found Hiei, Botan, Kuwabara, Kurama, Yukina, and Genkai sitting outside.

"How did it go Yusuke?" Genkai asked.

"Seems the old man, the lady, and the boy died."

Genkai scowled.

"But the teen girl was still alive."

"So his granddaughter lived?"

"Yeah." Yusuke sighed.

"So you didn't get the things?"

"Kind of; I got the herbs. The girl took over the shrine and seems to know herbs and such."

"What about the dagger."

"She wouldn't give it to me." Yusuke scowled.

"What do you mean?" Kurama asked.

"Well she said she had it and could get it for me. Then she got me the herbs and led me into a large shed of sorts. We passed a whole bunch of odd things but then we entered the back of the shed and everything felt evil."

Everyone listened closely.

"It felt like everything was tainted. The girl walked up to the dagger and scowled. Then she said it was her favourite artefact and couldn't give it to me. I wasn't about to force her so I left with the herbs. She said I could come back anytime if I needed more." Yusuke said.

Genkai frowned thoughtful.

"Her grandfather and I were good friends. He believed in demons and such even though he had no spiritual powers at all. But he said his family didn't believe in them. He inherited a lot of old artefacts though. And I visited once and took some of the cursed ones off his hands. He said a while back that I could take any artefact that was tainted from him no question. But now that he's gone this may prove a problem." She said.

"Oh and the girl grew her herbs in an odd garden." Yusuke said sitting down.

"Odd garden?" Kurama asked.

"Yeah. I sensed some small amounts of demon energy in it." Yusuke said.

Kurama scowled.

"So the girl inherited a shrine from her grandfather that held demon traces, and cursed artefacts. Lucky her." Botan sighed.

"We have to do something about the items in the shed though." Yusuke said. "I had goose bumps just stepping in there."

"He's right though. I once put off getting a cursed artefact from the man and it turned out to be an ancient Noah mask. I heard it destroyed half of their wall, started a fire, destroyed a fire truck, and killed about twenty people. I never found out how they dealt with it." Genkai said.

"We could go tonight and say that we need more herbs. And while she's busy getting them some of use can get into there and grab the cursed items." Yusuke said.

"That's a smart plan. I can't believe you thought of it." Genkai said.

Yusuke glared at her.

"So we go tonight?" Kurama asked. "If you guys grab the stuff I can keep her busy by talking about the gardening with her. And I can take care of the garden too."

Everyone nodded. Suddenly another portal opened and a letter fluttered out before the portal vanished. Botan grabbed the letter and opened it letting her eyes scan it.

"It's from Koenma. He says he has a mission for us. We're to investigate Higurashi shrine because he has felt some unknown demon energy there." Botan said.

"Hey that's the girl's shrine." Yusuke said.

"Perfect." Genkai said. "We will investigate. I'm guessing the demon energy he felt is from the garden and cursed artefacts."

Everyone nodded agreement again.

"We should leave in three hours, after dinner."

"What do we do till then?" Kuwabara whined.

"Train, sissy." Genkai scowled.

Yusuke was perfectly fine with that for the moment. He dragged Kuwabara off to spar while Kurama said something about going to the garden before walking off. Hiei just sat in a tree and closed his eyes like he was napping. Yukina just said she had some chores to do. Genkai remained sitting, sorting through the herbs and drinking some tea. Botan set off through a portal saying she had work. After the three hours were up everyone stood in front of Botan who had a portal open.

"This should take us straight to the steps of Higurashi shrine." Botan chirped.

Everyone nodded and stepped into the portal. They stepped out into an empty street. Kuwabara groaned at the look of all the stairs.

"I can't believe I have to climb these again." Yusuke muttered.

They all snorted in amusement and took the first step. Both Hiei and Kurama felt a small shock and blinked in surprise. Botan didn't seem to feel anything but the others looked slightly thoughtful.

"Did you feel that?" Yusuke asked.

"Like we walked though something?" Kuwabara asked.

They nodded. They took another hesitant step and when they felt nothing continued up the stairs. After five minutes they stood at the top of the stairs. Hiei was the first to move. He vanished in a blur to find somewhere to watch from. Kuwabara and Yusuke moved quickly to the wall so they weren't visible from the house. Genkai also followed. Botan vanished back through her portal and Kurama moved towards the front door of the house. He knocked softly and everyone waited.

.--.

Kurama stood in front of the door and waited as he heard feet coming towards him. The door swung open to show a woman who looked to be in her late teens. She had long raven black hair to her waist and blue eyes flecked with gold. She wore some deep blue baggy cargo like pants, and a light blue t-shirt. She looked at him and tilted her head.

"Yes?"

"My name is Shuichi. I heard my friend came here earlier and bought some herbs." Kurama smiled politely.

She gave a nod.

"I'm a garden you see and herbs are some of my specialty. I was wondering if I could see your garden and buy some herbs and seeds."

She looked him a moment before slowly nodding. She stepped from the house looking at him suspiciously. He watched her hands go to her necklace unconsciously. He looked at the pink jewel a moment. It held power. She walked past him and around the house to some large iron gates. Yusuke was right. He could feel a slight demonic aurora inside. The woman reached for the gates and opened them slowly.

.--.

Kagome looked at the man who had asked to see her garden. She sensed a kitsune spirit in him and it felt too much like Youko for her peace of mind. She wanted to ask him about it but if he was unaware of it then he would think she was crazy. She had felt five people enter her shrine, and now only saw one so she wondered where the other four were. As she rested her hand on her gate handle she let her powers seep into the garden warning the plants to be still. She also let her powers ripple out a bit. None would sense them but they would tell her where the others where. She scowled softly. She felt a demon in the sacred tree and three humans near the room with the artefacts. One of the humans was the boy from before. And now she sensed spiritual powers in him and the other two.

She opened the garden gate and led the red head inside. As she shut the gate behind him, she smirked. He was in her garden now. She was in command. And she had also felt Haku and Akago enter the shrine, moving quickly up the stairs. If they tried anything she had the advantage. She wondered why they were even here and guessed the boy from before had sensed some things in the shrine. And on top of that he could be here for the dagger. She wondered why they had wanted it but shook the thoughts off as she led the tall man deeper into her garden. She made sure he couldn't see her smirk.

.--.

Kurama had a bad feeling. Like this girl knew more then they wanted. As she led him into the garden he watched everything closely. Twice he had caught the plants moving. The woman didn't seem to notice meaning either she didn't know her plants were alive, or she knew and was purposely ignoring them. He hoped it was the first. Suddenly he heard a yell from outside the garden. He spun to look at the direction it came from. It had sounded too much like Kuwabara's for comfort. He turned back to the girl to find her gone. He gulped as the plants came to life. They had already blocked off his escape route. He dodged a large vine that came at him. He flipped back and ran down the trail dodging all the plants and trying to communicate with them and tell them he was friend but they all thought he was the enemy.

He ran for about ten second before he screeched to a halt. He paled slightly. In front of him were a death tree and another tree that felt demonic. The demonic tree he could not identify seemed to move too. Suddenly branches were coming for him. He tried to jump back but bumped into the vines. The vines grabbed him and he paled more. The tree's branches grabbed him and constricted around him painfully. They pulled him towards the tree which let out cackling laughter. His eyes widened as it laughed. The branches wrapped around his upper arms tightly almost cutting his circulation off. They held his arms out and held his legs together tightly as if he was on a cross. He cried out again as the branches around his chest tightened. He heard three cracks. He could feel his ribs breaking almost one by one.

Then one small branch stabbed into his thigh and went right through it. He cried out again. The small branch pulled out and stabbed his other thigh. It did the same to his arms. It stabbed him in the stomach once to. He was sure it had missed his vitals but he wasn't completely sure. He tried to talk to the tree but ended up getting one of the branches slap him hard across the face cutting his cheek. Then one of the smaller branches wrapped around his throat. He felt it constrict a little making it harder to breath. The tree seemed to like his blood and kept his branches whipping him and drawing blood in various ways. Kurama knew he was in trouble. And Youko wasn't talking to him.

.--.

Kuwabara, Yusuke, and Genkai watched as the girl led Kurama towards the back of her house. Once out of sight they ducked around the shed and hurried to the door. They stood there a moment frowning. The door was locked. Yusuke pulled out a hair pin and started to try and pick it. Suddenly it hissed and melted. They starred at it.

"Seems we aren't dealing with a normal person and shrine." Genkai frowned. "That girl must know more then she let on."

Yusuke nodded. Kuwabara just summoned his energy sword and got ready to slice the lock off. As he rammed his sword down on it a pink light flickered over the lock in a sphere. Kuwabara's sword hit it and vanished. Kuwabara gaped along with the other two.

"That's spiritual energy but it's too pure to be just any normal persons. It has to be a miko's." Genkai gasped. "But they died out hundreds of years ago."

Suddenly they heard some soft laughter. The three spun to look at two kids. They looked exactly the same. Each had light purple hair to their shoulders, but one kid had his in a pony tail, and they both had violet eyes. They looked to be five or so. They wore white yukata-like outfits. They grinned like kids and had their hands clasped behind their backs.

"What do you need in there?" The boy with the pony tail asked.

"None of your business brat." Yusuke said.

The two kids just continued smiling. It freaked the three out slightly

"Our mother said no one is allowed in there unless she gives them permission."

"The black haired girl is your mom?" Kuwabara asked in disbelief.

"She's our adopted mother." They chorused.

"Well just run along and pretended you never saw us, and we won't have to hurt you." Kuwabara said.

The two tsked and shook their heads.

"Our mom said we have to stop anyone who tries to get in there without her permission." The kid with his hair down said.

"And how are you going to stop us?" Genkai asked slowly.

She didn't like the grins they wore or the look in their eyes. They grinned even more, but in more of an evil way. Suddenly they pulled their hands to the front. The three gaped. In the kid-with-the-ponytail's hand was a large axe. And the other kid held a large spear. The three wondered how they had got those and hid them behind their backs but it wasn't the time to ask that. The kids lunged forwards with inhuman speed. Yusuke narrowly dodged having his heart carved out by a spear, but his shirt did get cut. Kuwabara cried out as the axe sliced his chest pretty deeply. He fell back summoning his shield to block a second blow.

Yusuke dodged about ten thrusts of the spear but didn't dodge the kid's foot which nailed him in the gut. He flew back into the wall and hit it hard sliding down. 'You think a five year old wouldn't be able to even move me let alone kick me into a wall.' He thought in annoyance. Kuwabara glanced at him but was to busy defending against the axe. The kid pulled the same trick as his twin and ended up kicking Kuwabara right into Yusuke. The two slowly stood up. Kuwabara was panting and covered in blood from his wound while Yusuke was sure he had a broken rib from the boys kick.

Suddenly the two heard a scream. Their heads shot to look at the garden fence. They were sure that was Kurama's voice. The twins grinned again and got ready again. Yusuke fought on with Kuwabara but both were getting tired and the twins looked as fresh as ever. They fought for two more minutes, but with in the two minutes Yusuke got stabbed in the leg once, he got a huge gash up his chest, and broke two more ribs. In the end he collapsed to his knees. Kuwabara fared no better then Yusuke. He had it worse since he was a bit weaker then Yusuke. He ended up with broken ribs, two gashes on his leg, and a nasty cut on his arms. The two were in trouble and they knew it. Genkai had tried to help but one twin had engaged her in battle while the other kept the two wounded ones busy.

.--.

Hiei watched from the tree with narrowed eyes. He couldn't get in the girls mind. That was a bit unnerving. And he couldn't hear Youko in Kurama's mind. He watched the fox walk towards the garden with the woman. He kept an eye on the other three though. He scowled even more as he saw the pink light repel the three. He was fairly surprised when the two kids showed up in a blur. He watched with wide eyes as they beat both Yusuke and Kuwabara with in minutes. Then he heard Kurama's scream.

He decided he had to help. He tried to move but froze. His eyes widened at the ice covering his legs. He hadn't even noticed it. The ice and some branches from the tree wound up his legs to his waist. He tried to burn them off but it didn't work. The pink light kept his fire from even reaching the ice and tree. He struggle but found it useless. Suddenly the woman stood in front of him. She grinned and flicked her fingers. The ice and branches left but then his feet were shackled by the pink light which burned if he struggled too much. The same light tied his hands behind his back. Hiei snarled at her. She smirked and he saw an illusion shatter. He starred at the girl who now had icy blue kitsune ears and an icy blue tail. She also had claws and fangs. She grabbed his collar and dragged him from the tree towards Yusuke and the others. The twins stepped back as she walked up. The three starred at her and Hiei. Hiei growled and struggled but a nasty shock from the pink light left him stunned a minute.

"Come boys. Let's take them to their friend the fox. I want to see how badly my tree tortured the poor thing." The woman said.

The kids nodded. The woman flicked her fingers again and the same pink light tied Yusuke's and Kuwabara's hands behind their backs. The twins each grabbed one and dragged them non to gently across the ground. Genkai, who didn't have a scrape on her, followed the woman cautiously. They all entered her garden and starred at the plants that moved around. Kagome dragged Hiei down the path. The twins followed dragging the other two and Genkai just followed. As they reached two large trees the four starred at Kurama.

He was slumped forwards. The only thing holding him up was branches that were around his upper arms and legs, and some around his waist and neck. He looked like he had been crucified by his position. He was also covered in wounds and blood. He looked to be barely conscious. His eyes were half closed and his breathing was laboured. The four just starred at him. He cringed as one of the branches cut his cheek slowly. He looked like he had gone through hell. The woman scowled slightly and tsked.

"Lei, let him go."

The tree seemed to groan before the branches pulled back letting Kurama drop to the ground. Kagome walked up to him dropping Hiei in the process. She helped Kurama stand and let him lean on her shoulder. Some vines moved to reveal a bench. She set him on it gently.

"Now I want you to explain what you are doing on my property, trespassing, breaking in, trying to steal some stuff, sitting in the sacred tree, and tricking me. If you tell me I may let you go." The woman scowled.

Genkai sighed.

"We sensed demonic energy around here and thought it might be dangerous. Besides that your grandfather and I had an agreement. I took cursed items off of his hands and he gave me herbs. Last time we talked he told me his family didn't believe in curses and demons so we kept it between us. I didn't think you would be a demon or know about curses and such so we came to take it off your hands. Besides that these guys are called the spirit detectives. They work for the king of the underworld and deal with demons and such in the human realm. They were just doing a mission to investigate your shrine and deal with anything dangerous."

"Mmh. Well I'm Kagome and that is Hakudoushi and Akago." The woman said.

Kagome rested her hands on Kurama's chest and he glowed a soft pink. All his wounds healed up and his breathing became normal. He sat up slowly and just sat there in silence. She did the same to Yusuke and Kuwabara. When that was done she flicked her fingers and the pink vanished leaving them free. She looked them over to see if they would attack. None were foolish enough to try with all the moving plants watching them carefully.

"So you were only doing your job." She muttered. "I guess I can forgive that…Wait… Human realm? What did you mean about that?"

They all blinked at her.

"You don't know about the three realms?" Yusuke asked.

Kagome shook her head. Suddenly a two people came running into the garden. The plants hissed at them but Kagome waited till the two were up close. One was Botan and the other was Koenma Jr. floating along. Kagome, Hiei noticed, starred at them a moment.

"We've been sent to explain everything to Lady Kagome." Botan chirped.

Everyone blinked

"Lady?" Genkai asked.

"And you were ordered?" Yusuke asked Koenma.

"Yes. The king of the Makai sent us." He sighed. "Sit down everyone."

The spirit detectives all sat quickly. Kagome slid onto the bench beside Kurama and the twins hoped up to her and sat on each side of her. Enma sighed.

"I was sent to explain about the three realms and the demon world during the present time." Koenma said to Kagome who nodded.

Everyone still wondered why he had been ordered by the king of the Makai to tell this girl of all people about the Makai. They sat patiently though and listened as Koenma launched in an explanation. They all watched Kagome and the twins warily though. The three people had defeated them all and hadn't even broken a sweat. It was unnerving. After about half an hour Koenma had given Kagome a rough explanation of the three realms and what went on in the demon world.

"So that's about it." Botan said.

"Who is the king of the Makai?" Kagome asked

"Sesshomaru." Kurama said in a deep voice.

Everyone looked to him to see that Youko had taken over. Kagome's eye widened.

"Youko!" She yelled lunging at him.

He caught her in a hug with a grin.

"How could you let the tree torture me?" He asked with a frown.

"You mean Lei?"

"You named it?!"

"Yeah. He's my own creation. Now I let him torture you because you took to damn long to find me."

"But I didn't know where to find you." He whined.

"You could just have remembered the location of the well and came here."


	19. Newest Member : Crossover

Everyone sat silently and still in the meeting room. The dark shadows flickered once in awhile. Finally Akatsuki's orange haired leader walked in the door and sat down. He looked everyone over. Then he sighed.

"Why did you call this meeting, un?" Deidara asked impatiently.

"I called this meeting to talk about getting new members." Pein said calmly.

There was silence a minute.

"We are going to get some new members?" Kisame asked.

"Yes. We need to get some strong allies. I wanted to ask if any of you knew any people we could recruit."

Zetsu cleared his throat.

"Some I could name would be Naruto Uzumaki but we want the Kyuubi in him, Sasuke Uchiha but it wouldn't be a good idea to have the two brothers together, and third would be Sakura Haruno but she stays in Konoha a lot and is very loyal to them." His white side chirped.

"Yes. Naruto we need the Kyuubi, Sasuke is a disaster in human form, and Sakura would die before joining us." His dark side said.

"Anyone else have any suggestions?" Pein asked.

No one moved or spoke.

"I have an idea."

Everyone snapped their attention to Itachi. He rarely spoke and when he did, most listened.

"Who do you suggest?" Pein asked curiously.

"An old friend of mine." He smirked.

"You had friends, un?" Deidara asked.

Itachi ignored him.

"The person lives not here though. She lives on the civilian island."

"You mean the island that all chakara is nullified on?" Pein asked.

There was a large island that had a few modern cities and ninja were thought of as myths there. There were humans and some thought there were also a few demons. No ninja lived there because all chakara was useless on the island. It was a place where those who hated ninja ways could live.

"Yes. She is quite strong and I'm sure she would join if I asked." Itachi said.

There was silence.

"_She_?" Kakuzu asked.

"Yes. It is a woman. I think she would be about twenty now." Itachi mulled.

"How long ago did you last see her?" Pein asked.

"Two years ago. I first met her when I visited the island as a child. We have written to each other on and off."

There was more silence as Pein pondered this.

"You can't be seriously thinking about letting her join." Kisame said. "A woman in Akatsuki is unheard of."

Pein shrugged.

"She wouldn't be safe here. We're criminals. I don't think any girl could put up with all of us if she last the first day. Hidan will be out to sacrifice her and Zetsu will be out to eat her are just some of the few things." Kisame argued.

"You don't like women?" Pein asked.

"No. They are weak, cling, whiny, and soft." He retorted.

"Are you gay?" Tobi asked childishly.

Kisame scowled at him.

"Nothing wrong with that." Kisame retorted.

"Don't tease him Tobi." Pein said.

"Okay Leader." Tobi chirped.

"So is this friend of yours strong?" Pein asked.

"Last I met her she was." Itachi said.

"Bring her here then. I will decide once I meet her." Pein said.

"So who will go get her?" Kakuzu asked.

"Itachi, Deidara, Sasori, Kisame, and Hidan."

"Hai." They all chorused.

Everyone stood.

"Oh, and what is her name?" Pein asked suddenly.

"Kagome Higurashi." Itachi smirked.

.--.

The five Akatsuki members packed that day and shed their cloaks pulling on civilian clothes, while Kisame had used a transformation jutsu. Then they had hurried to a port and caught a boat to the island. They had spent the day sailing. Then they had touched down outside of a city called Tokyo. They had hurried down the streets. Itachi had the address from one of Kagome's previous letters. They had hurried to her house to come to the foot of a tall set of stairs. They had cautiously climbed them till they stood in front of a shrine.

.--.

The five looked around quickly but saw none in sight. They walked slowly across the courtyard. They had barely made it to the house when an arrow whizzed by Itachi's head and embedded in a large tree. The five spun around knives, and in one case a sword and a scythe, already out. They all scowled as they saw a woman with a drawn bow. She was a little shorter then Itachi with raven black hair to her waist. Her deep water blue eyes were clouded by caution. She wore black Capri's and a red tank top. She had a quiver of arrows on her back and her bow in hand. At her waist were three swords, a knife, and a weapon pouch. Suddenly she grinned.

"Itachi is that you?"

"Hai, it is me Kagome."

Kagome's bow lowered and she strode over, her body straight and proud. She plucked the arrow from the tree and stuffed it in her quiver. Then she spun in the blink of an eye and leapt at Itachi. The other four watched with wide eyes as she hugged him. They expected him to pry her off but instead hugged her back. Now their jaws hit the ground. When the two stepped back Kagome wore a grin but Itachi had an emotional mask.

"So, still emotionless as ever I see." Kagome said in amusement.

Itachi just rolled his eyes. Then he motioned to the other four.

"Kagome, these are my partners."

"Hello, my name is Kagome. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi! My name's Deidara. I'm an artist and a bomb expert, un." Deidara grinned.

"I'm Kisame, Itachi's partner." Kisame sighed.

"I'm Sasori, Deidara's partner." Sasori said with a bored tone.

"And I'm Hidan, loyal follower of Jashin." Hidan said.

"Once again, nice to meet you. I am guessing you are all here for a reason." She said.

"We should talk inside." Itachi said.

Kagome's smile vanished and her face took on a stern look.

"Hai." She said.

She walked past the four to the house. She opened the door. Everyone stepped in and followed her to a kitchen. They all sat down at her table. She looked them over with calculating eyes.

"So where is your family?" Itachi asked slowly.

Kagome's eyes flashed with an emotion none caught.

"They are dead."

Everyone watched her.

"Grandfather died of old age, my mother got in a car accident and my brother and her both died."

"How long ago?" Itachi asked.

"A year ago."

"So you live alone now, un?" Deidara asked.

"Hai."

"Perfect." Itachi said.

"What do you want from me?" She asked.

"We wish you to become an Akatsuki member." Itachi said bluntly.

Kagome watched him.

"You mean join your criminal organization?"

Itachi nodded.

"I see no reason not to. But you must give me a few minutes to pack and call a friend."

Itachi nodded. Kagome stood and glided from the room. The others turned to Itachi then.

"Does she know ninja techniques?" Kisame asked.

"No." Itachi said.

They watched him a moment then shrugged. Kagome returned a minute later. She had one bag on her back.

"That is it?" Itachi asked.

"I have a lot in here. I learned how to shrink inanimate objects." She grinned.

"How?" They all asked in surprise.

"I have some …rare powers." She said slowly.

"You will tell us later." Itachi said.

She nodded. Then she grabbed the phone. She dialled a number. She stood a second. Then she brightened.

"Hey Kurama!" She chirped.

…

"Can you come over immediately and bring the others?"

…

"Yes, something came up."

…

"Thanks."

She hung up.

"Friend?" Itachi asked.

"Yes. The one, Kurama is my adopted brother. I will sign the shrine over to him." Kagome nodded.

Itachi nodded. Then she sighed.

"Let's wait outside. They shouldn't take long."

Everyone nodded. They followed Kagome back outside into the courtyard. They stood by the door and watched as Kagome slowly walked over to the large tree. They watched curiously as she reached her hand out hesitantly. She touched a mark on the tree and suddenly her eyes turned sad. She looked a great deal in pain. They watched again as she walked from the tree to her well house. She looked at it a moment. Then she turned and skipped back to the others. She had almost reached them when she tripped. She 'eeped' as she pitched forwards. Itachi grabbed her arms at the elbows and helped her gain her balance.

"Still as clumsily as ever." Itachi smirked.

"A bit. Inuyasha said the same thing." She smiled.

"Who is Inuyasha?" Itachi asked.

Kagome suddenly stiffened.

"He's an old friend." She whispered after a second.

The others all noticed Itachi hadn't let go of Kagome's arms.

"HEY! LET HER GO!"

The six looked over at a group who had showed up. There was a boy with slicked back black hair, a kid with orange Elvis style hair, a boy with stunning red hair, and a short guy with gravity defying black hair. They looked annoyed.

"Let Kagome go." The boy with black slicked hair snarled.

"Yusuke…" Kagome started.

The boy now known as Yusuke growled and stalked forwards. The five got ready pulling out knives and a scythe and one sword.

"You want a fight, a fights what you'll get." The red head snarled.

The five were shocked as a yellow sword appeared in the buffoon's hand, as the red head suddenly made whip of thorns appear, and as the short guy suddenly held a sword.

"Don't fight." Kagome whispered to Itachi. "Even I can't tell if you'll win.

No one listened. Kisame shot forwards in the blink of an eye. The others expected him to kill at least one of the five but they all jumped back to quickly to see. The red head snarled again. They all watched in shock as his hair turned silver, he grew a tail, two ears, claws, fangs, and new clothes.

"Set her down." He snarled.

Kagome tore from Itachi and stepped between the two groups.

"Stop." She said in a booming voice.

Everyone stopped.

"They are my friends." She said to both group.

"Are they sister?" The fox asked.

"Yes." Kagome said.

They all slowly put their weapons away and the fox turned back into the red headed human.

"So who the fuck are you?" Hidan asked.

"I'm Yusuke." The black haired boy said.

"I'm Kuwabara the great." The Elvis kid said.

"I'm Kurama." The red head said.

"Nh." Shorty said.

"That's Hiei. He doesn't say much." Kurama said.

"Nh." The guy said again.

"Well this is Itachi, Sasori, Deidara, Kisame, and Hidan." Kagome said.

"What are they doing here?" Kurama said.

"I'm leaving with them."

"Why?" They all asked.

"Because." Kagome replied.

"Hn." Hiei said.

"I'll miss you too Hiei."

Kagome sniffed and launched at him. The short haired man disappeared in a flash.

"That was faster then Itachi, un." Deidara whispered.

"Itachi is fast?" The red head asked.

"How did you hear me, un?" Deidara asked.

"Demon hearing." Kurama said.

"You are demons?" Sasori asked.

"I have a demon spirit trapped inside of me, Yusuke and Kuwabara are human, and Hiei is a forbidden child." Kurama said politely.

"Forbidden child?" Sasori asked.

"He is half ice demon, and half fire demon. He is forbidden because of that." Kagome explained.

"That's odd. Just because of who his parents are he's forbidden, un?"

"Yes. He has had a hard life-" Kagome started.

Suddenly before anyone could blink a sharp katana was against her throat. The short guy was growling.

"Say another word Onna and I will slit your throat." He hissed.

"You like me to much to do that Hiei." Kagome said calmly.

"Want to try me?"

Kagome just looked at him.

"Hiei fight her and you will fight me."

Everyone looked back at Kurama to see he had changed back into the fox.

"Want to fight me fox?" He asked.

The two growled at each other.

"Oh stop already you two." Kagome sighed.

Kurama walked up to her and cuddled up to her. Everyone watched.

"I worry about you sister."

"I know."

Suddenly Kagome jumped behind him and cuddled his tail. Kurama yelped.

"That hurts." He whimpered.

Everyone grinned.

"Kurama the infamous thief is whimpering." Yusuke laughed.

"You're a thief?" Kisame asked.

Everyone looked at him.

"Hiei and I work together because it is our punishment for our crimes."

"And what crimes did Shorty commit?" Kisame asked.

"Stole a few things, killed a few people, and just didn't listen." Yusuke grinned.

Hiei scowled. Suddenly Kagome was in front of him. Before anyone could blink she had slid his sleeve up to reveal a black dragon tattoo.

"So you have got control of the dragon now?" Kagome asked.

"Yes onna and if you touch me again I will make it disintegrate you."

"As if you could." She taunted.

The ninja watched in amazement as the dragon grew and lifted off his arm. It roared silently and headed for Kagome. Before it even hit it hit a barrier. They all watched. The dragon retreated to the guys arm.

"What was that, un?" Deidara asked.

"Fire dragon." Kagome said.

"What was with the fucken whip?" Hidan interrupted.

Kurama blinked.

"That was my rose whip." He said.

He pulled a seed from behind his ear. In a snap it had turned into a whip.

"Zetsu would like that." Hidan muttered.

"And what can the humans do?" Kisame asked.

Yusuke grinned. Then he held his fingers like a gun. They could swear they could hear a click before a huge burst of energy soared quickly where he aimed, into the sky. Kuwabara made the sword appear again. He made it turn into a shield.

"What energy is that?" Sasori asked.

"Spiritual energy." Yusuke said.

"So why did you call us Kagome?" Kurama interrupted.

"I am leaving and leaving the shrine to you, along with my garden."

Kurama blinked and slowly nodded.

"So you aren't coming back?" Yusuke asked.

"I may visit." She said slowly.

"Or we can visit you." Kurama said.

"I doubt you would want to." Kagome snorted.

They just looked at her. She skipped to Hiei and he let her shake his hand.

"Well bye Hiei. It was fun…uh… fighting you."

Hiei snorted. Kagome gave Kurama a big hug and then skipped to Kuwabara. She gave him a hug then grinned and hugged Yusuke. Everyone saw his hand sink lower then her back, which resulted in a loud 'crack' and a slap. They snorted as Kagome sighed.

"I can see how you are related to Miroku." Kagome said.

Yusuke rubbed the hand print and grinned.

"It was worth it. You have a nice ass."

Everyone smirked as Kagome scowled.

"I should tell Keiko about this." She said.

"No! Please don't." He begged.

Kagome just smirked. Suddenly a bright blue circle popped up. The ninja starred as a woman in a kimono on an oar floated out.

"Hey guys! Oh shoot I opened up in the presence of others. I'll have to blank their memories." She cursed.

"No you don't." Kagome said.

The woman blinked and slowly nodded. Then she brightened.

"Well there is a mission for all of you.

"Not me! Ha ha ha!" Kagome started to laugh evilly and everyone starred at her. "I'm leaving. Tell Koenma goodbye for me."

"You're going?" Botan asked.

Kagome gestured to the ninja.

"Oh." She wilted.

"Oh yeah Botan meet Itachi, Sasori, Deidara, Kisame, and Hidan. And you guys this is Botan, the grim reaper."

"The grim reaper?" Kisame asked in disbelief.

"Yup! I take souls to the underworld." She chirped.

The ninja inched away.

"Kind of cheery for the grim reaper, un." Deidara muttered.

"If you work for the underworld you know of the gods?" Hidan asked.

"Yes." Botan chirped.

"You know Jashin?"

The woman paled.

"I know of him." She shivered. "Quite sadistic. I heard he had a very loyal follower. That would be you?"

Hidan just smirked. The others inched away from him too.

"Well we must be going." Kagome said.

"Want a lift?" Botan asked.

"Yes please." Kagome said.

"What? Wait-" Deidara started.

Suddenly they felt the ground disappear as a blue portal opened beneath their feet. They fell down through it in surprise. They fell from it a second later and fell in a heap on the floor a second later groaning. They looked up and blinked. They all lay in the meeting room of Akatsuki in front of a surprised looking Zetsu, Tobi, Pein, and Kakuzu. They stood up and straightened.

"Okay where did you come from?" Pein asked slowly.

"Portal." Itachi muttered.

"I'm, going to kill the grim reaper." Kisame snarled.

He had fallen first resulting in everyone falling on him. Hidan still looked smug and Sasori looked bored.

"The grim reaper?" Kakuzu asked.

"Yeah. We went to get Kagome, un. But we also met a demon, a demon container, two humans with spiritual powers, and the grim reaper. Then we learned Jashin is real and we fell through the portal, un." Deidara said in one breathe with a grin.

The others just blinked.


	20. Wolf Leader : Crossover

KAGOME:

I fired my last arrow as I panted. My pink miko powers surrounded the arrow and purified the demons it touched. It killed at least ten but there were lots more. I was out of arrows too. I saw Sango and Miroku off to the side. They seemed to be tired. I sprinted to them. Kirara and Shippo saw me running and bound over to me. As soon as we were in reach of the other two I unleashed my powers and a pink barrier sprang up. We all sat down as we looked out on the battle field. Koga appeared a second later and my barrier let him in. Finally Inuyasha and Sesshomaru walked up and I let them in.

The demons outside my barrier all growled and circled hoping to strike when I weakened. We all sat back. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were glaring at one another but they were too tired to do anything. I looked out on the battle field. It was ripped up. The once beautiful field was torn up ground, bloody, and littered with bodies. Naraku, I saw was standing a ways off talking to Kanna, Kagura, and Kohaku. He had his own barrier around them. Demons stood guard around him while the demons tried to break my barrier. He had brought more then a horde of these demons with him. I looked away from the field to those in the barrier. They all were resting and some were already asleep. I sighed as I looked up at the noon sun.

-

I was now nineteen. It had been four years since I had fallen down the well. Four years of travelling and training. We had been looking for the Shikon No Tama shards for the whole time. At least Miroku a monk, Sango a slayer, Shippo a Kitsune, Kirara a neko, and Inuyasha a hanyou had been looking for them. I was part of the group to but I hadn't been with them for four years.

I had been in the feudal era for this time but I hadn't stayed with the group the whole time. No. I had left them at seventeen. I had gone off to train. I had stayed with a miko for eight months mastering my miko powers, herb lore, and the bow. After that I had gone for some weapon training. Who did I go to? I went to different people. For four months I had trained with a kitsune by the name of Youko Kurama. He was a thief. I had trained with him in plant lore, stealth, and other things. He had been a good friend.

Then I had gone to Sesshomaru. I know it may sound crazy but I had gone to him. He trained me how to wield a spear, staff, and sword. I did this in six months. He had been surprised at how fast I learned. And finally after that I had trained with a wolf clan. Not Koga's wolf clan but another. They had taught me hunting, tracking, hand to hand combat, and how to use any small blade. After six months I had left them too. I had left to search out my old group.

We had been parted for two years and I had never fully told them why I had left. I had just left saying I would be back one day. But the moment I had found them Naraku had also showed up. He had interrupted our reunion by attacking. It seemed that the last battle was upon us.

-

I was shaken from my thoughts by a hand on my shoulder. I turned to look into some golden eyes. Inuyasha suddenly crushed me in a hug.

"How are you?" I asked.

"It is so good to see you Kagome. We thought you had died long ago. It's been two years." He whispered.

Suddenly he was pushed aside and Sango and Shippo gathered me into another hug. When they had finally let go I looked at the others. Sesshomaru had his eyes closed and looked to be asleep, but I knew he was just resting and fully aware of his surroundings.

"Yeah Kagome it's been two years. Where did you go?" Koga asked.

"I went off to train."

Everyone blinked then slowly nodded.

"So are you stronger?' Shippo asked looking at me.

I laughed.

"Yes." I said.

Suddenly Koga sniffed. He sniffed again. Then he crawled to me and sniffed me. Inuyasha glared at him.

"Back off you mangy wolf." He said.

"You smell like wolves." Koga said.

"That's because you're all over her." Inuyasha scowled.

"No. She smells like different wolves."

I laughed causing everyone to look at me even Sesshomaru.

"You caught me. I guess with all the miko powers I have been using the barrier around myself is disappearing."

"Barrier around yourself?" Miroku frowned.

I nodded and let the small barrier around me shatter. Everyone starred. Black ears with red insides like Inuyasha popped up while my human ones disappeared. My finger nails turned to claws and I grew small fangs. My eyes took on a sharper glint and turned dark, almost black with wisps of red. A black tail like Koga's appeared, only mine was longer and had a roan red tip. My hair was longer and had red ends. And my black sweat pants and tank top turned into a pair of roan red hakamas, and a black t-shirt. My shirt was tied tightly by a black sash tied around my middle. Over top of my shirt I wore a roan red vest like Shippo's. I also had on some red tinted shoes and a red belt. A sword that had been invisible returned to my waist. It was in a black sheath and all you saw was the red hilt that had a wolf carved into it. There was silence as they gaped.

"You're a wolf youkai." They all breathed.

Even Sesshomaru's eyes widened. I grinned showing my fangs.

"Since when?" Inuyasha stuttered.

"Since forever. My mother was a wolf youkai. My father wasn't really human or demon but when I was born I was a full wolf demon. Souta is also a wolf demon but has a different father. But in the future we have to hide our appearance and there is no reason to fight so I never learned that's why I wasn't very strong. And I have miko powers because I am the reincarnation of the Shikon No Miko. The powers didn't seem to care I wasn't human."

"This is great!" Koga said. "Now when we mate you can stay with me forever and our pups won't be half breeds."

I sighed.

"You won't touch her!" Someone hissed.

Everyone spun and looked at two youkai who had just entered the barrier. One was tall with long black hair and brown eyes. He wore his hair in a braid and wore an outfit similar to Koga's but a deep crimson. Beside the first wolf youkai, stood another one. He had long hair with red streaks. He wore the same outfit but a roan red. He had brown eyes and also wore his hair in a braid. Both wore black armour and had swords and knives at their waists.

"Guys this is Haki."

I pointed to the one with the plain black hair.

"And this is Miku."

I pointed to the man with red streaks.

"Who are they?" Inuyasha said suddenly.

"We are from a wolf clan. And you will not touch her." Haki growled at all of them.

"We are red wolves and we are here to protect our leader." Miku said calmly.

Everyone spun to me again.

"You're a wolf clan leader?' Koga gaped.

I nodded.

"Our last Leader was leading us to extinction. Kagome showed up and tried to show him reason. He challenged her. The rules are simple. If a person defeats the current leader they become the new leader. None of us could beat him but she did. We accepted her." Haki said firmly with a nod.

"She has saved our clan and helped us. We are all loyal to her and if you touch her without her permission we will kill you." Miku said in a deadly tone.

Haki was sometimes quite rash like Inuyasha and was also impulsive. He wasn't that bright but quite strong and sneaky. Miku was calm and always in control. He thought everything out and was intelligent. He was also quick and skilled. Miku was my right hand man and Haki was my left hand man. Everyone looked them over as they looked everyone over.

"So these are your two best men?" Koga asked.

I nodded. He laughed.

"Well I could beat them both."

He turned back to me and clasped my hands in his.

"So, after I kill Naraku we will go back to my clan. These guys can take over for you. You can help me lead my clan."

"Koga…." I started.

He was yanked back by the neck of his shirt. Haki was glaring at him and had a vein popping on his forehead.

"We told you not to touch her!" He yelled.

Miku grabbed Haki's arms and pulled the glaring wolf back. Koga glared right back. I grabbed his arms as he started to stand.

"Fight them and I will kick you from this barrier. Now sit."

Inuyasha collided with the ground.

"Sorry I wasn't talking to you." I said.

He growled from the face down position in the dirt. He sat up as the necklaces effects wore off. Koga glanced at me then my men. Finally he walked back to his old place and sat down. My two men plopped down beside me watching everyone.

"I told you not to come... What took you so long?" I asked.

Haki grinned and Miku sighed.

"I tried to make him obey but you know how stubborn he is." Haki said. "He tried to get me to come and said you need protection. Of course I tried to obey your command but he dragged me here."

Haki sighed.

"So he dragged you here." I said to Miku who nodded.

"No! I listened to your command and Miku dragged me here." Haki said slapping the ground from his cross legged position.

I rolled my eyes. I didn't know why he bothered to try and blame Miku for disobeying me when it had obviously been him who had disobeyed me. I didn't much care though. I then yawned and sat back. I had noticed that part way through Koga's conversation with me Shippo, Kirara, Sango, and Miroku had fallen asleep. Sesshomaru was once again resting and Inuyasha's head was sinking. Koga was also resting. I yawned again and let my head rest on Miku's shoulder as I drifted off a bit.

.--.

I woke to someone shaking me. I sat up quickly almost pulling my sword free. I stopped and relaxed as I saw it was Sesshomaru.

"What 'sup?" I asked.

"Naraku."

I straightened. The whole group stood ready. Naraku was walking towards us. He was chuckling darkly. Everyone clutched their weapons. All our eyes widened as, as he got closer all his miasma gathered in his hands forming a deep purple sword. It almost resembled Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga. He slashed it and waves of miasma hit my barrier. I screamed. Everyone looked at me. Naraku wasn't trying to destroy my barrier, he was some how using my barrier against me. His miasma tried to taint my barrier which was connected to my powers. It hurt like hell. I screamed as another wave hit my barrier.

"I have to let my barrier go." I said.

Tears threatened to leak from my eyes as the pain washed over me. Everyone nodded. I let the barrier disintegrate. Instantly everyone jumped away and released their weapons. Naraku was a bit startled. But then he deflected the weapons with his sword. I took a deep breath. Then I grinned. I had learned a very nifty trick with my powers and now was time to try it out. I let my miko powers shroud me. Haki and Miku blinked.

"Where did you go?" Haki asked sharply.

"Right here." I whispered.

They looked to where my voice came but their eyes passed over me. I grinned. It was an invisibility barrier I had thrown around myself. I drew my sword and silently walked towards Naraku. The others were battling the demon horde and Kagura, Kanna, and Kohaku. I dodged everyone silently. Kohaku didn't even know I was coming up behind him. Naraku was battling him and seemed to contemplate whether or not to kill him. I let my barrier drop when I was behind the slayer boy. Sesshomaru's eyes only showed the tiniest bit of surprise. I slid my sword up Kohaku's back. I grabbed the jewel shard as it flew out. Kohaku crumpled. I looked at Sesshomaru. He sheathed his Tokijin and pulled his Tensaiga out. He swiped it over Kohaku and his wound healed and he breathed again.

"Sango!" I called.

Sango who was near jumped beside me.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Someone is here for you."

Her eyes widened as they rested on Kohaku who sat up and blinked. She grabbed his hand and helped him. She had tears in her eyes, Kohaku also did.

"Tears later." I said.

They nodded and glanced at me. They blinked. I already had my invisibility barrier on. I swept off towards Naraku. I dodged stray attacks and silently advanced on the chuckling Naraku. I reappeared behind him. I quickly sheathed my sword in his heart. Everything around the field froze.

"Hell will be busy today. I hope the devil has a cell waiting for you because you will be joining him in two minutes."

Naraku looked back at me with wide eyes. His face wasn't laughing and his eyes held surprise but no malice of hate. That surprised me. I just gave him a small real smile. His eyes widened.

"Sorry." I whispered.

His eyes widened even more. I let all my miko powers go. They rippled from me in waves. Some entered Naraku through my sword. I mercifully purified him quickly. He turned to dust and all the enemy demons my powers touched screamed and disintegrated. Then I grabbed the falling Shikon No Tama. Koga's shards were also in my hand from earlier. I had taken them without his noticing somehow. A bright flash of pink, burst from the jewel.

Everyone shielded their eyes. When we opened our eyes we blinked. The recently torn up field was healthy and alive again. Kagura and Kanna stood gaping. Then they laughed. Kagura pulled a feather from her hair and her and Kanna shot into the sky. They dropped Kanna's mirror and Kagura's fan on me before they vanished. I grabbed the items and tucked them in my sash. The others all stood starring at me. I hung the Shikon No Tama around my neck. Suddenly Kikyo stepped out from behind a tree. She ran at Inuyasha. Everyone watched as she wrapped her arms around Inuyasha and laughed happily.

"My soul is back!"

Everyone looked from her to me.

"I never had half her soul. I am not her reincarnation. I am Midoriko's reincarnation. Half of her soul was just stuck in the Shikon No Tama."

Everyone starred a moment. Then Inuyasha let out a laugh and swung Kikyo around hugging her tight. I smiled brightly at the two and clapped. They glanced at me. I gave them a sign of my approval by grinning truly and giving then the thumbs-up. They shot me smiles and Inuyasha dipped Kikyo kissing her. I giggled and turned to the others. Sango was strangling her brother in a hug and Miroku and Shippo were standing by the two laughing. I saw Miroku's sacred beads lying on the ground. Kirara mewed and ran around her two masters. Sesshomaru gave me a small smile then he sheathed his sword. He just stood. Haki and Miku leapt to me. They both wrapped their arms around me hugging me. I laughed as the twirled me around.

.--.

Somehow everyone calmed. Inuyasha immediately announced and Kikyo were going to be mates. Sango and Miroku also announced they would wed. Then Sango, Miroku, Kohaku, Shippo, and Kirara flew off back to the slayer village. After a long chat with Koga he ran off moping. He had agreed to stop chasing me. Then we had returned to Kaede's village. She had been happy to see me. Then she and Kikyo started to chat and Inuyasha and Sesshomaru sat down under my watchful eye and sorted out their differences. Then Sesshomaru headed back to the west.

I had told the others I had felt the well seal the moment I had completed the jewel. They all gave me their sympathy. I grinned it off. I liked the feudal era. And I could always see my family if I lived. I planed to live too. Then after that I had promise to visit before Haki, Miku, and I had trotted off. Before I had returned to my pack I had visited Youko. He was one of my best friends and he had asked me to tell him if we won. I chatted with him a while. Then I headed off to my pack, my home.

500 YEARS LATER

KURAMA:

We all stood in Koenma's office. I sighed as Youko inside my mind started to rant on about nonsense. Hiei stood beside me looking annoyed, while Yusuke and Kuwabara looked eager for our next mission.

"What is it this time toddler?" Yusuke asked.

"I TOLD YOU I AM NOT A TODDLER!" Koenma yelled. "And your mission is to find a certain wolf youkai and bring her here. I need to speak to her."

"What does she look like?" Kuwabara asked.

Koenma held up a photograph of a woman with long raven black hair, almost black eyes, black and red ears, a black and red tail, and modern clothes. She was walking up some shrine stairs.

"She disobeyed a law and we need to talk to her. Her name is Kagome. She lives on sunset shrine. I think she is somewhere downtown Tokyo at the moment." Koenma said.

We all nodded and Yusuke took the picture. Suddenly I noticed Youko wasn't in my mind. I found a corner of my mind and realized he had locked himself away for the moment. I scowled. He didn't do that often.

~The fox actually shut up and locked _himself_ away?~ Hiei asked telepathically.

-Yeah, I don't know why though.-

~Hn~

I turned back to Botan who walked into the room with her oar. She grinned and we were falling. I guessed she had opened a portal under us. I sighed and Hiei and I touched the ground gracefully while Yusuke and Kuwabara fell in a heap. They were on their feet in record time though.

"Should we spilt up?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yes." Yusuke said.

We all nodded and in the blink of an eye we were all out of sight heading off in different directions.

KAGOME:

I skipped down the streets. I had all my illusions on so I looked like a normal girl. I sighed sadly. I had just gone and visited my mother and Souta a while ago. Grandpa had died years ago. My mother was also leaving with Souta to go to England to live with her sister. A year ago today I had jumped down the well for the last time. I had lived the five hundred years easily. I still led my pack. We stayed in the Makai but I had come to visit my family. Four hundred years ago King Enma had set up the barriers separating the three worlds. I grinned. I had even helped him. I had used my huge amount of miko powers to make sure no demons could break the barriers. He was very grateful. When the Makai had been set up the four lords of the south, north, west, and east had battled to see who would be king. (Give you three guesses who won and the first two don't count.)

Sesshomaru won. He took the role as King of the Makai. The other three lords had died. Besides that Koga had mated with Ayame and now had pups. Kikyo and Inuyasha and mated and Kikyo had somehow become a half demon like Inuyasha. The two lived at Sesshomaru's castle. Inuyasha was his brother and his information department. Shippo had grown up and worked as Sesshomaru's master spy. Kagura and Kanna had also joined the others at Sesshomaru's castle as a few of his advisors. Koga was his general, Jaken was still his vassal, and Rin, who had drank a special potion and became a cat demon, was Shippo's mate.

Inuyasha and Kikyo had a daughter and son. Shippo and Rin also had a son. Neither Kagura or Kanna had gotten a mate. Sesshomaru and I hadn't either. Many chased me but I refused all proposals. I sighed. I had lived five hundred years and was still a virgin. But that had some perks. The longer a female wolf demon stayed a virgin the more powerful they would be. Female virgin wolves were considered the best and fiercest hunters. Once they mated they calmed down. So I was still the strongest wolf demon around. Even when I mated I would be the strongest. I also was Sesshomaru's most trusted advisor and I was also in control of all his northern and eastern lands though. Not many knew of me though. I had kept my identity quite secret.

I sighed as I remembered Sango, Miroku, and Kohaku. They had restored the slayer village and lived long. Miroku and Sango had had ten children who all grew up strong. Kohaku married a woman from a ninja village but had no children. Sango and Miroku had lived to a ripe old age. I grinned when I remembered after the barriers dividing the three worlds. The two had started to work for Enma as spirit warriors who guarded the underworld. I could visit them when ever I wanted now. Some of their decedents were still alive and were all strong, some lecherous, and some even had spirituals powers. Most of their decedents all worked for Sesshomaru in the Makai.

I sighed slightly and glided around a person on the sidewalk. I looked up and saw the sun was getting low. It had to be at least dinner. I was planning on looking around a while then heading back to my pack. I rarely left the Makai because I was always busy. As Sesshomaru's most trusted advisor and ruler of the north and east which meant I had a lot of advising and paper work to do. And I had to look out for all the demons in the north and east. I sighed. I wonder how Sesshomaru had ever tricked me into taking the job. Then I remembered he had threatened me. No tricks, he had just out right threatened me.

I giggled slightly. Then my mind drifted to Youko. He had been my friend for hundreds of years. Then I had heard he had died. I sniffed slightly. I had liked him a lot and then he had died without even saying goodbye. When I died or had time I was going to find him in the underworld and beat him to a pulp. I grinned evilly as I thought of all the stuff I could do to him.

"He'll pay." I chuckled under my breath.

.--.

Youko, in Kurama's mind, sneezed. 'Someone's talking about me.' He thought.

.--.

I continued to walk down the street. Then I saw the fast food place me and my friends had always stopped at on the way home from school. I smiled softly. Then I skipped past. I was stopped dead in my tracks by identical squeals a second later though. I turned to see Yura, Eri, and Ayumi. They waved and I almost groaned. I put on a smile though and waved back. At least I had had a five hundred year break from them, even if to them it had only been a year. They jogged up to me.

"Hi guys." I said.

"Kagome where have you been?!" Yura asked.

"Your mother said you moved to the country because of your declining health." Ayumi said.

"Yeah." I said.

"Kagome?" Someone asked.

We all saw Hojo riding towards us on a bike.

"Ooh. Bye Kagome." Yura and Eri squealed.

They dragged Ayumi off. I sighed. Ayumi was the only intelligent and nice one among the three. I turned to Hojo and my smile slipped a bit but he didn't notice.

"Kagome it is so good to see you well."

I nodded and smiled through my teeth.

"Well I'm glad to see you back."

With my miko powers I could tell he wasn't as pure anymore and he was definitely not a virgin so he had to have another girl. I wanted to sigh; with relief he had found someone.

"I'm sorry Hojo but you don't interest me anymore." I said bluntly.

He blinked and scowled suddenly.

"Really?" He asked in almost disbelief.

"Really." I said.

He almost let a smile slip. I could smell his relief.

"Well bye Hojo."

I turned and skipped off as his 'bye' followed. I just walked down the streets looking around. Suddenly a boy was in front of me. He had slicked back black hair and a green outfit. He was grinning. I could sense large amounts of spiritual power in him.

"Kagome?" He asked.

"Yes." I said slowly.

"You are under arrest." He said.

I blinked.

"By who's orders?"

"By Koenma's orders."

I blinked. I doubted the king of the spirit world would ever arrest me.

"Jr.?" I asked.

He nodded. I sighed.

"Sorry but I'm busy right now, maybe we can talk later."

He scowled. I narrowed my eyes dangerously as I felt a human coming up behind me. He also had huge spiritual power. I spun and caught sight of a guy with slick back orange Elvis hair. I cursed a third time as I felt a strong demon come up beside me. I glanced at a short guy with black spiky hair with a white starburst. I could sense he was a forbidden child. Hiei if I remembered some papers I had done correctly.

"Come with us onna and you won't get hurt." He said.

I scowled. I now realized most of the street was empty. They had waited till I was away from witnesses.

"I am not going to listen to listen to you children. Now move out of my way lads or I'll hurt you."

I saw all their eyes twitch at children and lads. Hiei drew a sword and the black haired guy raised his hand like a gun. The orange haired guy suddenly made a sword out of spiritual powers. They all lunged. I dodged both swords and a small blast of powers. I continue to dodge not even bothering to attack. They all starred at me in disbelief as I continued to dodge them all. Suddenly a red headed guy jumped into the fray with a rose whip. My eyes widened. I had only seen one other with that whip. I also sensed a silver kitsune spirit in him. I froze starring at him.

"Youko-"

I was cut off by a sharp to my head with the butt of a sword. Then I fell as darkness swirled around me.

KURAMA:

All our eyes widened. Before Hiei had knocked her out she had whispered Youko's name.

-Youko! - I called in my mind.

He did not answer.

~Explain how she knows you fox~ Hiei growled.

Youko still did not answer. I looked at the girl lying on the ground.

~She is skilled~ Hiei grudgingly admitted. ~If she had not seemed so surprised by your appearance I doubt we would have got her~

I nodded in agreement.

"Well she's a looker." Yusuke whistled as he picked the girl up.

Kuwabara looked at her sighing in wonder. Then Yusuke pulled his communicator out of his pocket and contacted Botan. Before we knew it we were falling through a blue portal. We landed inside Koenma's office. He looked at us then the grinned.

"Good job."

KAGOME:

I woke and suppressed a groan. I opened my eyes but clenched them shut again at the sudden light. I sat straight up and opened my eyes. I saw that I was on a floor in a room. Off to the side, stood the four, who had caught me. I glanced at the boy Youko was in. But then I glanced away. It was because of my surprise at seeing him that I was in this mess. I let my illusions drop. My tail twitched with annoyance, the same with my ears. I spotted a toddler sitting behind a desk. He had a soother and a red outfit. On his hat was printed Jr. 'Koenma Jr.' I summarized. I tried to stand but the shackles around my hands and feet stopped me. I growled deep in my throat. 'How dare they shackle me?!'

"Kagome-" Koenma started.

"Yes?" I asked.

"You are arrested for unauthorized time travel. You will be imprisoned for two hundred year and the Shikon No Tama shall be taken by us for safe keeping."

I let out a throaty growl of amusement.

"You will keep it safe? I am the only one who can keep it pure."

"Kikyo, the Makai king's sister-in-law, will keep it pure and safe."

I let a giggle escape. I wondered if he had run this by her. I had offered it back to her five hundred years ago and she had said she never wanted to see the thing again because it was what had caused her misery. Koenma scowled at me.

"Yusuke will you please get the pink jewel around her neck."

The black haired boy, now named Yusuke, stepped forwards. I let out a growl. He shivered and seemed to have doubts. He stepped forwards again. I growled a low warning and glared at him. He stepped back flinching.

"Fine, you get it Kurama."

Yusuke stepped back and Kurama stepped forwards.

"So Youko…. I thought you were dead." I said.

Kurama froze and the other's eyes widened. I just watched him as he stepped forwards again.

"Take another step and I will hurt you so bad." I said dangerously.

Kurama froze.

"I'm tired of this." I pouted.

I let my miko powers slip into the shackles. The shackles were made of special metal that couldn't be broken by brute strength or youki. But spiritual powers were another thing. The shackles burst and melted from my pink miko powers. Everyone gaped and stepped back as I stood up. I dusted myself off. Then I smiled at Koenma.

"You think those measly shackles could hold me?"

"Yes." Yusuke muttered.

"How come you have miko powers? You are a demon!" Koenma said.

"I'm a special miko demon." I yawned.

"How do you know Youko?" Kurama asked slowly.

"I've known him for hundreds of years."

"Hundreds?" Yusuke gaped.

"Five hundred years to be exact." I said.

"That's why she called us children and lads." Yusuke mumbled to himself.

"You're five hundred years old?" Koenma choked. "I only found you recently."

"I am very good at not being found." I purred.

"But the king of the Makai would have found you if you had hid in the Makai and I would have found you if you had hid in the Rekai." Koenma said.

I rolled my eyes.

"Of course Sesshomaru knew about me."

"The king knows you?" He asked gaping.

"Of course. I am his most trusted advisor and ruler of the northern and eastern lands."

Kurama and Hiei had wide eyes while the rest were gaping. I yawned then grinned.

"So brother I see you are doing well."

He started to splutter.

"B-broth-brother?" He asked. "I'm not your brother."

"Actually yes you are."

Everyone looked up at king Enma who had just entered the room.

"Father." Koenma breathed.

"Daddy!" I squealed and launched at Enma.

Everyone gaped as I latched into Enma's arm.

"Have you missed me?" I asked

"Very much. You never visit anymore Kagome. I have been very busy." Enma smiled.

"She's my sister?" Koenma strangled out.

"Yes." Enma sighed.

"When?" Was all Koenma could ask.

"Well she was born sixteen years ago. You are the first born but she is the oldest since she traveled to the past and stayed their." Enma said.

"You never told me about a brother either. I just found out about him by myself." I pouted.

"I know Kagome, I'm sorry it just slipped my mind." Enma said.

"So I have a sister." Koenma said.

He sat back still gaping.

"What don't you like me?"

I made a sob and pretended to cry.

"No! I do like you I just haven't got to know you." Koenma said quickly.

~She is faking it~ Hiei said to Kurama in amusement.

-I know- Kurama smirked.

"You made her cry!" Kuwabara said.

He walked up to the girl and held her hands as she sniffed.

"Would you be my girlfriend?" He asked.

Before anyone could blink Kuwabara was sliding down the wall. Suddenly Kagome spun and smirked at Kurama. Kurama got a very bad feeling and took a step back. Kagome started to advance on him still smirking sadistically. Kurama backed up till he hit the wall.

"So, Youko hid in you."

Kurama gulped at her tone.

"You better pull him out because I have a score to settle with him."

Enma rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Leave Shuichi alone, Kagome. Youko's spirit is just trapped in him."

Kurama almost sighed in relief as Kagome lost a murderous aurora.

"But how dare Youko die on me?! He didn't even say goodbye! He just died! I have already sworn to beat him to the verge of death for that."

Kurama gulped again. Kagome stepped away from Enma and advanced. When she was two feet away she got an evil look. She seemed to be twenty feet tall as she looked at the nervous Kurama.

"Oh this is going to be so good." So she chuckled rubbing her hands together.

--Hey red, let me out. I might be able to talk some sense into her-- Youko said.

-There you are! Where have you been?-

--Well I didn't want to meet Kagome under these circumstances-- He sniffed.

~You better hurry fox.~ Hiei snorted as Kagome stepped closer.

Suddenly Kurama changed to the silver kitsune. Everyone blinked as the silver fox smirked and stepped around Kagome. Kagome had frozen. Then she got watery eyes. She let a sob escape. Youko wrapped his arms around her. Everyone just sort of watched.

"I missed you so much Youko." She sobbed.

"I missed you to Kagome." He purred.

"You are the same as always." She gave him a water grin.

"I'm trying to make you feel better." He said seductively.

"No you're trying to seduce me."

"Can't I do both?" He grinned.

He fell back doubling over but still grinning. He clutched his stomach where Kagome had elbowed him.

"You can go ahead and try to hurt me but I think you should leave red out of this."

"Fine, I'll just beat you to a pulp."

Youko dodged her fist and wrapped his arms around her from behind. They all knew Kagome wasn't trying of Youko would already be hurt.

"Kagome, guests coming." Enma interrupted.

A red portal opened up and two wolf demons popped out.

"Hey Miku, Haki." Kagome chirped.

"Where have you been young lady?! You are late!" Haki growled. "AND YOU FOX! LET HER GO!"

Kurama smirked and pulled Kagome closer. Haki just stalked over and ripped Kagome from his grasp.

"Don't you dare touch our leader without her permission." Haki snarled.

"You lead a wolf clan?" Koenma asked.

"Yes." Kagome grinned.

"Who are you shorty?" Haki asked Koenma.

"I'm the prince of the underworld and Kagome's brother."

"You didn't tell us you had a brother." Miku said coolly.

"I forgot to tell you." Kagome yawned.

"Well Lord Sesshomaru needs you." Miku said.

"What does he want?" Kagome sighed.

Miku shrugged.

"He said if you don't come see him he'll hunt you down."

Everyone saw Kagome's tail ruffle indignity.

"I'd like to see him try." She sniffed.

"He also has Shippo and Inuyasha."

Kagome just sniffed again.

"Well see you dad. Bye, everyone else." Kagome said.

Suddenly another red portal opened. The three wolves stepped through leaving the group behind. Youko immediately turned back into Shuichi.

"Well I think there is a story we need to hear." Konema said to his dad.

Enma sighed. Then he started to explain how he had met her mother and had her, how she had gone to the past, and some of the important things she had been doing for the last couple years. He said she would have to tell them the details and that they would see her again because of Youko. Then the king left and Koenma Jr. sent them on a mission.

.--.

Kagome allowed the two wolves to drag her down the halls of the castle towards Sesshomaru's study. They entered and threw her in then stood beside the door. Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes at Sesshomaru who smirked.

"What did you need?" She asked crossing her arms.

"You should show more respect."

"Haven't and won't. Now come on, what do you need?" She snorted.

"I was just going to tell you I was giving you a break."

Kagome gaped at him.

"A break?" She sniffed happily.

"Yes."

"HOORAY!"

"Be quiet. That hurts my ears."

"Whatever."

"Inuyasha will take over while you are gone…"

"NO!"

"Excuse me?"

"No. Let Kagura take over for me."

"….okay. Miku and Haki can accompany if you wish or help Kagura."

Kagome just grinned.

"Now get out of my sight for the day before I change my mind."

"Thank you Fluffykins."

Sesshomaru's eye started to twitch.

"That's a nasty twitch."

He muttered about taking deep breathes.

"Yes that's it. When angry take deep breaths." Kagome taunted.

She grinned as she dodged a knife hurled at her head. Haki cried out and ducked just in time too. Kagome skipped from the room and opened a portal leaving Miku and Haki behind. She had something to do. She appeared in a cave deep in the northern mountains of the Makai. She walked to the back of the cave which took ten minutes. When she reached it she stood in front of a large lake. Crystals in the water glowed showing some rare demon fish inside the water. On the ceiling were some of the same crystals showing the cave alit.

She moved to the water and jumped to a large rock right at the center. It was smooth like a large disk. She had worked on this cave, craving it out with her miko powers. The lake had already been there but she had enlarged the cave and made it perfect. On the smooth disk rock there was a pail of red liquid and a brush. She dipped the brush in the liquid; blood, her blood. She started to draw symbols and runes on the rock in a pattern. It had taken a lot of research and practice to learn how to do it and how to perform this particular summoning.

After an hour the runes and symbols where finished. Kagome wiped her brow and sighed. She pulled her sword free. She jammed it in the middle of the runes. Then she jumped onto a smaller round stone pillar in the water, five feet from the larger on. She stood there and slapped her hands together as in a prayer. She took a deep summoned her miko powers and youki. She let it swirl around her. Then she moved it to the center stone. She let it spin around the runes and symbols on the rock. . It started to spin faster, becoming brighter and stronger. With a high pitched howl there was a flash of light. Kagome blinked the light away and looked back to the center of the rock.

She averted her eyes from the naked form of Naraku. Yes, Naraku. She had summoned him back from the dead. A year after she had killed him she had realize in her moment of regret for killing him she had attached his soul to her sword. He had witnessed everything her sword had and had had his soul stuck in it. Kind of like Sounga. She could have sent him straight to the underworld instead of making him a body, but she had been too kind. She sighed. She moved to the cave floor and grabbed the clothes she had brought. She jumped back next to Naraku and dropped the clothes on him.

He groaned and his eyes fluttered open. She turned her back on him. He didn't ask any questions. He would already know the answer since he had seen everything from the sword, including the ritual. He cleared his throat and she turned around. He stood up wearing a pair of deep purple yukata. Over the shirt was a patterned blue vest and at his waist was a deep blue sash. She also threw him a blue ribbon. He held his mass of black wavy curls back. He looked the same as always. He looked her over. Then he bowed his head.

"I owe you some thanks."

She gave him a lopsided smile.

"Now I can let you wander the Makai or you can stay with me as an advisor."

"I'll stay with you." He sighed.

"You seem to have grown wiser and have some more patience."

"Being stuck as a sword for five hundred years can help that a little." He rolled his eyes.

She smirked and motioned him to follow her. She grabbed her sword, stuffing it in her scabbard before walking back to the mouth of the cave where she opened a portal. They both stepped through to appear in the courtyard of the northern and eastern castle, her castle. It wasn't as large as Sesshomaru's but was a good size. The maids didn't even give the two a second glance as they walked down the halls.

"Hungry?" Kagome asked.

"Famished."

She led him to the kitchen and they grabbed some breakfast. She noted she had spent all night with Koenma, Sesshomaru, and in the cave. Luckily demons didn't need much sleep. She led Naraku towards her study. She already knew Kagura would be there, starting on the paperwork for her. Kagura worked sort of as a secretary for her, and as she was taking her place she would be there. Kagome slid the door open and the two stepped in. Sure enough Kagura sat at the desk signing some papers. Kagome grinned as Kagura turned and grinned at her. Then Kagura froze. Her mouth fell open. She rubbed her eyes and continued to stare at Naraku. She quickly rose ready to whip her fan out.

"He's with me." Kagome said.

"But that's Naraku."

"Yes."

Kagura went to say something but Kagome just grabbed a bag that was on one of the shelves and dragged Naraku from the room. He smiled softly at Kagura, who looked ready to faint

"Don't tell the others. Or I will hurt you." Kagome said as they left the room.

Kagome led a smiling Naraku down the halls. She could smell his happiness. He was quite glad to be out of the sword. Kagome grabbed a few more things then she opened a portal to her shrine. The two stepped out and Kagome led Naraku into the house. She pointed him to her brother's old room. He gave a nod. Kagome settled in her old room.


	21. Protection and Love : Inuyasha

Inutaisho's POV:

I floated just above the ground as I followed the girl with raven black hair, flawless creamy skin, and soft brown eyes. She was wearing soft brown baggy pants, a whit short sleeves shirt with a brown travelling cloak hanging around her. She had soft leather boots and a brown pack. She also carried numerous knives and daggers. She walked on at the same pace. Never in a rush yet never slow.

Her name was Kagome. She was eighteen. I had been following her for three years. I had watched as she had jumped from the well. I hadn't found out why I followed her though. I was compelled too. I always had to stay with in ten feet of her of I felt immense pain. I am a spirit. I am not living and none can see me. Even those who can see spirits can't see me because I didn't wish them too. I had been at rest till somehow my spirit had been pulled back into the world of the living when this girl had come from the well.

She jumped back in continuously and I was trapped near the well. I knew I had to follow her for a reason though because only immensely powerful people could pull spirits from their rest. And the person had to be pure too so I wasn't watching her for evil intentions. I sighed. I was getting bored just following this girl around though. I had to admit her travels and life were interesting though. She had jumped from the well at the age of fifteen.

She had been completely helpless and naïve. She had met Inuyasha. They had started to travel while looking for the Shikon No Tama. They had also got travel companions; the perverted monk, the Kitsune child, the demon slayer woman, and the fire neko. They had met many people. They had travelled together for two years. I had also learned that Inuyasha had had a girlfriend named Kikyo. She was going to be his mate when Naraku had tricked them into betraying each other.

I had watched for the first two years as the girl I followed, Kagome fell in love with Inuyasha and as my son had seemed to love her too. Then at the end of the second year Kagome had found Inuyasha rutting with his old girlfriend. She had been shocked to say the least. Inuyasha had said he wanted her to be his mate then she caught him two timing. She had felt confused and betrayed. Inuyasha had tried to explain and did look truly ashamed and sorry. But Kagome hadn't listened. She had run off to her world.

Inuyasha had tried to get through but over the years Kagome had mastered her miko powers and sealed the well behind her. Inuyasha hadn't told the group why she had left and they didn't suspect the truth. Kikyo had joined them and they had set off to kill Naraku and find the jewel. Kagome had come back a few days later and headed off. She had met Myoga on her way and he had taken her to a weapon master named Kai. He had taught her how to wield all blades. She had also in her spare time met others who taught her loads of useful things.

Now a year later, in her third year her she was very strong. At least as strong as Sesshomaru. You might think that impossible for a human but I had found out she wasn't human. She was a black neko youkai. They were extremely rare but as strong as inu youkai at least. One of the rare things about black neko youkai was that they could have spiritual powers. Lots of demons hated them for that and had wiped them out. Humans with spiritual power also hated them for having their power but being demons and helped the demons wipe them out. Only a few lived in the North now.

She had found out she had really come from this time but had been thrown in the well when she was younger because her family had tried to keep her from a demon that had tried to kill them. Her family had been the old lords of the north. They had been killed. The north was ruled at the moment by a distant cousin of Kagome's. Kagome had told Myoga, who knew what she was, that she would travel till she had killed Naraku then she would return to the north.

Kagome had just finished training half a week ago and was looking for Naraku at this very moment. Kagome kept her human appearance around humans but when she was away from humans she didn't. She had two deep purple stripes on each arm and on her face saying she was strong and of noble birth. She also had a purple four pointed star on her forehead. She had two black neko ears that looked like Inuyasha's with brown insides, and a long, black, and sleek, tail that looked like a nekos, that almost touched the ground. She had small claws and fangs and her eyes had turned a blue with flecks of purple. She was stunning.

I sighed. I didn't like being a spirit. I didn't get to interact with anyone or do anything. I could warn Kagome of danger. All I had to do was whisper in her ear. She would only hear a whisper of danger but she would be immediately alerted. I could also block some spiritual attacks.

-

I heard her sigh ahead of me. Suddenly we burst from the small forest path we had been on. We appeared in a small clearing by the edge of a cliff. Kagome tested the ground before walking up to the edge of the cliff. She looked down at a roaring river about two hundred feet down. She smiled. Most neko Youkai hated water but Kagome liked it. She seemed almost mesmerized by the water swirling below. The noon sun might have helped with that as is it fell on Kagome.

Neko youkai were like nekos and liked night better then day. Sun made them drossy. Light also caught there eyes. I sighed. Neko youkai liked shiny things and such and light playing on water was perfect. I looked at Kagome again. Her pack also held quite a few shinny things. It held polished coins sparkly rocks, jewellery, and such. I gave a small laugh. I had known a neko youkai when I had been alive. She had had a collection of shiny rocks from precious rocks and gems to the odd rock with a sparkle in it. I sighed.

It had been close to two hundred years since I had been alive. Ever since I had died saving my second mate and our newly born son. I sighed again. I had never got to know Inuyasha when I was alive but now that I knew him when I was dead he disappointed me. I guessed that I couldn't blame him completely. He had never been taught because he didn't have any family besides Sesshomaru who didn't like him that much. Inuyasha had almost destroyed Kagome though by deceiving her which ticked me off. I liked Kagome. She was kind, nice, polite, strong, and thought everyone equal. I guessed anyone would like her.

I was so distracted with my thoughts and Kagome was caught up in the water that neither of us noticed the snake demon till it hissed. Kagome spun and her eyes widened. I cursed. I should have paid attention. Kagome reached for a knife but the demon was fast. Kagome was hit in the gut hard by the Snakes head. She let out an 'oomph' before she was thrown back and falling down the cliff. I quickly jumped after her if I didn't I would feel pain for not staying close. Suddenly about ten feet from the water every thing froze except me. I stopped, floating in mid air slightly startled. Suddenly in a blast of white light another spirit appeared in front of me. I blinked then bowed slightly as I recognized Midoriko. She smiled at me.

"Inutaisho. I know you have been wondering why you were pulled her and stuck to this girl."

I nodded.

"I was responsible. I was the one who brought you back and attached you to Kagome. I needed you to get to know her because I wanted you to become her guardian."

I blinked.

"But I can't protect her, I'm dead." I said.

"It is a simple problem to fix." She smiled.

"So you will give me life and in return I have to protect her?" I asked slowly.

The woman smiled and nodded.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because if she dies it will change the course of history for the worse. If she dies the jewel will become completely tainted because Kikyo isn't pure enough to keep the whole jewel pure anymore. If that happens Naraku will win or he will be killed and another demon will get the tainted jewel. Naraku is weak and will most likely die, but if he lives or dies does not matter. The jewel isn't my only concern though. If she dies the North will fall. I'm sorry but I can't say anymore."

Midoriko sighed.

"So will you do it?" She asked.

"How long must I watch her for?" I asked thoughtfully.

"At least ten years. You will also be required to train her more."

I looked at her and thought a moment.

"I'll do it."

The woman smiled.

"I want you to give her this too."

Suddenly Sounga appeared in her hands. My eyes widened.

"But its evil, she's pure."

"Yes but she can control it and she may need it. She will also need to get another sword from Totosi so she has one that is completely hers and not hard to control."

I nodded and grabbed Sounga's hilt.

"I froze time for an instant so we could talk but time is starting again. I will give you your body now. You will also still be able to turn into your inu form and you will be able to change your size." She said.

I nodded quickly.

"This may hurt. But before you go I will tell you we will meet again."

I braced myself. She chanted something. A second later pain exploded through my body. I cried out and everything went black a moment. When I opened my eyes a second later time had started again. In a rush I fell into the swirling water. I almost laughed out with glee as I felt the water and the cold. Then I remembered Kagome. I dived under the water and looked around frantically. I saw her a few feet away struggling to get out of the water. Even if she liked water, like all neko youkai she couldn't swim to well. I swam to her quickly. She fought as I grabbed her.

"Don't worry I'm here to help." I whispered.

She calmed at the tone of my voice. I used one arm and grabbed a rock as we were pulled past. I pulled myself and Kagome onto the large rock. I kept my one arm around Kagome's waist and jumped back up the cliff. As we landed I set Kagome down. She spit up some water and panted. She looked up at me and gaped before going to say something. She was interrupted as the snake returned it hissed again and lunged at us. I summoned my whip and sliced it up in a second. Kagome just blinked and coiffed up more water. Then she stood. She studied me a moment.

"Would you be Inutaisho, Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father?" She asked hesitantly.

I grinned and nodded.

"How? You were dead?"

"When you came to this world three years ago I was pulled from the underworld and attached to you. I was just a spirit that had to follow you. I had to be at least ten feet near you or I would feel pain."

"So you watched over me. Where you the whisper in my ear and the one who blocked some spiritual attacks, that some how never reached me and the one I always sensed near?" She asked.

I nodded.

"Wait if you always had to be ten feet near me then when I went to the hot springs or changed….EEK! Pervert!" She screeched.

"Don't worry I always turned away." I grinned.

She squinted at me.

"Always?"

"Well I may have looked once or twice."

She slapped me hard and scowled. I just grinned.

"So why are you here?" She pouted slightly.

"Midoriko gave me back my life so I could be your protector."

She slowly softened and then smiled.

"Well nice to finally meet you. I hope you know Inuyasha is a lying and cheating jackass."

I grinned.

"Of course I know. I did watch you and them for the past couple of years."

She grinned back. I remembered a demon telling me that my grin was contagious once. Then Kagome shook quickly spraying me with some water. I laughed. Then I shook off as much as I could. Then I felt Sounga at my side trying to speak. I smiled and pulled him from my waist. Kagome gasped.

"Midoriko said to give this to you and to tell you to get a second sword from Totosi."

She hesitantly reached out and grabbed Sounga who once out of my power started to grumble.

"I _just_ wanted to take over the world and I get sent to hell only to be dragged out and given to a women." He grumbled.

Kagome snorted and wrapped her power around him so he couldn't talk. Then she smiled at me.

"Thank you for being my protector and saving me."

I smiled back.

"Well we should go see Totosi." I said.

"Okay."

"Can you run the whole way?" I asked.

She nodded. Without another word we took off. To most it would seem we were just a blur. We ran like this for a while before stopping and slowing. We were now in front of Totosi's. We walked in and our mouths twitched as we saw Totosi sprawled on the ground. Myoga was on the hammer also sleeping. Kagome walked up and nudged the old demon with her foot. He grumbled and scratched his chest before snoring. Kagome sighed and kicked him hard. He flew a couple feet now wide awake. Myoga had dropped to the ground. They both starred at Kagome.

"Oh hello Kagome." They said.

"I need a sword Totosi." She said.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because he said so."

The two blinked.

"Who?"

"Him." Kagome said pointing to me.

The two turned and blinked at me. Then their brains turned on. I could swear I heard twin _'clicks'_. The gaped then started to stutter. Then they started to cry in joy while bowing to me. I sighed and waited. Kagome just watched with amusement. When they finally shut up I explained everything to them. Then I told Totosi to make Kagome a sword.

"I don't need to." He said.

"Why?" The three of us asked.

"Because I already made her one. I made her one long ago. When I first learned what she was and that she had went to Kai I made one." He said smugly.

"Well that'll speed things up." Kagome said.

Totosi nodded and hobbled off to the back of his smith. When he returned he had a sword in hand. Kagome took it gently. It had a black sheath that almost sparkled. The sword itself looked normal. But when Kagome pulled it all the way out of its sheath it transformed. I whistled. It turned larger with a slightly curved end like Inuyasha's but a bit smaller. It was also purple with a black line wrapped around it almost like a snake coiling up the blade.

"Call it what you like." Totosi said.

Kagome smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek. He turned red but soon turned normal again.

"Thank you Totosi." Kagome sang.

He smiled and waved as we walked out of the placed. Kagome strapped her sword beside Sounga. Then she looked at me. I saw an evil glint of hatred and anger in her eyes.

"Let's go kill Naraku."

I smirked evilly. I had really wanted to kill him but as a spirit I couldn't. I nodded and we walked quickly.

"Kagome can you fly?' I asked.

Kagome shook her head. "Not yet."

I smiled and wrapped one arm around her waist. She gasped as I jumped into the air. The cloud appeared under me and I stepped on as we quickly floated away. Kagome clutched to me. I smiled down at her. She looked down over the edge of the cloud. Then she slowly jumped. When the cloud didn't give way she slowly let go of me. She giggled and sat down. I smiled at her and continued on.

(Authors View)

Kagome smiled as they floated over the sea of trees. Inutaisho struck her as a nice guy who was a lot like Inuyasha but more polite and honourable like Sesshomaru. She looked up at him. He had long silver hair in a ponytail and wore an outfit similar to Sesshomaru's but he had two tails not one. He had the crescent moon, gold eyes, claws, fangs, and purple stripes. He was quite handsome. She wondered what he looked like in dog form. He glanced down at her and their eyes met before Kagome looked away blushing slightly. He was _realllllly_ handsome. She dangled her legs over the edge of the cloud and combed through her hair with her fingers. It had become a habit when she was bored. She sighed mentally. She hoped they found Naraku soon. She was itching to slice his head off. She sighed out loud this time. Inutaisho looked down at her. She smiled up at him.

"So, Inutaisho is that your first name?" She asked.

He grinned.

"No, my first name is Sei." He smiled.

"May I call you Sei-kun?" She asked.

He thought a moment then grinned.

"Sure."

"Thank you Sei-kun!" She laughed.

He liked her voice and laugh. It was like delinekoe chimes in the wind to his ears. He smiled down at the girl. She started to sing a song. He listened closer as her voice drifted off in a beautiful melody. She sang for a while before stopping. Then she started to talk and he listened closely. She told him about her life and in return he told her about his. When the sun started to set they drifted in to a clearing. Kagome started a fire while Inutaisho went to hunt. He returned with two rabbits already gutted and skinned. Kagome smiled up at him radiantly and stuck them over the fire. Once they were cooked they ate in silence. He sighed in content. It was so nice to eat and taste everything. When he was a spirit he had watched them eat and not been able too. Then Kagome stood up.

"I'm going to the springs."

Then she was gone. He sighed and the stood and stretched. He looked around and then grinned before walking off. When he reached the springs Kagome was already in the water. She had her hair fanned out across the water and she was sunk into her neck. He quickly but quietly stripped. As he walked closer her ears twitched and she turned to him. She turned completely red and screeched before spinning away. He sunk into the water closer to her.

"W-what are you doing?" She stuttered.

He grinned. 'She was cute when embarrassed.' He thought.

"Having a bath." He said. "I haven't had one in almost two hundred years."

"Why couldn't you wait till I was finished?" She asked quietly with a pout.

"Because I was bored just waiting." He grinned.

She sunk deeper into the water and scowled.

"I guess you won't leave will you?" She asked.

He grinned and shook his head. Then he stepped closer to her.

"Will you wash my hair with the stuff you always use that makes bubbles?" He asked

"Fine." She said.

She swam around him and grabbed her shampoo. She squirted some into her hand and swam back to him. He turned and undid his ponytail. She slowly started to massage the soap into his hair. He growled softly in pleasure. When she was finished he dived under the water washing the soap out. Then Kagome quickly washed her hair. Finally she sat on a natural rock bench. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back after making sure she was almost completely covered by water. A second later she felt the water beside her move. She looked beside her to see Inutaisho right there sitting only an inch away. She squeaked.

"Too close!"

Inutaisho grinned and moved closer so they were touching. Kagome slid back and he followed until she bumped into a large boulder. He grinned and sat down again so she was strapped between him and the boulder. She was already more then completely red. He looped an arm around her waist under water. She sank deeper into the water. He pulled her closer. She squeaked again. He inhaled her scent and kissed her neck. Kagome moaned and even relaxed a moment before tensing up. Inutaisho smiled and nibbled her earlobe. She moaned again. He liked her reaction very much.

He was getting aroused. He could smell her arousal too. She turned to say something but he cut her off by capturing her lips. She gasped and he slipped his tongue in. He found her returning the kiss a moment later. When they ran out of air they both pulled away. Kagome was really, really red now. Inutaisho smiled and jumped out of the water before drying off. When he was dressed he leaned against a tree. He grinned at Kagome who looked blank.

"Can you turn away please?" she asked.

He shook his head still grinning. Kagome pouted and slowly slid out of the water. Her hair covered her breasts and she turned so he couldn't see much else. She quickly got dressed and hurried back to camp with Inutaisho following her. When they returned the fire had gone out leaving them in the dark. Kagome shrugged and yawned. Then she lay down at the base of a tree. Inutaisho sat behind her against the tree. Then he pulled Kagome on to his lap. She squeaked once but didn't object. He set her on his lap gently and wrapped his arms around her while burying his face in her neck and breathing her scent in. Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug. Then she yawned and started to drift off against his chest. Inutaisho smiled and leaned his head against the tree before also yawning and drifting off.

.--.

He woke abruptly. A squirrel had run across the clearing startling him. He yawned and stood up. Kagome woke and slowly did the same. He smiled at her and she blushed before smiling back. Then she grabbed her pack. They set off while eating some cold rabbit meat. They walked till dinner before stopping in a clearing to rest. They still had an hour of light but decided to stop. Kagome had just set her bag when a gust of wind blew into the clearing. Inutaisho growled as he recognized the scent on the wind. Kagome hissed and grabbed her bag. They took off at top speed towards the scent.

As they neared their destination their caution spiked and they pulled out their swords. Kagome pulled out her newly named Garyuu and Inutaisho pulled out Sounga from Kagome's waist. As they burst from the forest into a small clearing they hit a barrier. They saw Kagura flying in. They knew they had smelled Naraku because Kagura was just returning. They weren't supposed to have smelled him. Kagome took a deep breath and focused her powers opening a small hole in the barrier. They slipped in before it snapped shut. Then they suddenly saw a large castle surrounded by a purple miasma.

"Can you take this level of poison?" Inutaisho asked.

Kagome nodded. He could easily take it because he was used to his poison which was worse then this. He knew she also had her own poison attack so she would be okay. They jumped through the miasma into the deserted court yard. They were greeted by Kagura, Kanna, Kohaku, and Naraku. Naraku looked ticked off.

"I guess you caught my scent. Damn I didn't want to be found till I had created another one of my…children.'

He smirked at the last part. Then he blinked at Inutaisho. He squinted.

"I thought you were Sesshomaru, seems I was wrong. Who are you?" He demanded.

"I'm Inutaisho Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's father." He growled.

Naraku gaped a moment then looked at Kagome and smirked.

"Seems the hanyou has cast aside his weak little miko. But you are no longer a miko."

"I'm a black neko youkai and I'm your death."

Kagome lunged, her blade drawn. Kagura, Kohaku, and Kanna stepped in front of Naraku. Their eyes showed hatred as they glanced back at Naraku. Kagome smirked. In a flash Inutaisho had knocked them both back. Naraku scowled. Inutaisho started to battle the three while Kagome fought Naraku. Naraku somehow gathered all his miasma in his hand, forming a purple sword. He smirked and there blades met. Kagome hissed and narrowed her eyes at him. She swiped out with her claws at him. He laughed and dodged. Kagome grabbed her sword with both hands and took a breath. Then she released the power in her sword.

"Blood Claws!" She yelled.

Blades of red light or something shot out. There were a lot of them and they looked like Kagura's dance of blades and Inuyasha's wind scar combined but the size of Kagura's attack. Naraku gasped as they all cut into him. As they swiped him and shot past they soaked even more red with his blood. He spit up blood and glared at Kagome. She glared right back. Then she swung her blade again and more blades shot out. He laughed and jumped up avoiding them.

"You didn't think I would fall for that twice did you?"

"No." she whispered from behind him.

His eyes widened and he had time to turn and look at her before his head was lopped off. He growled and was about to surround himself in miasma and fly away but suddenly a sword was thrust through his decapitated head. Inutaisho growled and Kagome retrieved the jewel from Naraku's clothing. She purified it easily. At the same time Naraku's body and head disintegrated to dust.

"He was so easy to kill even though he did so much harm." She said softly.

Then Kagome released a lot of miko energy purifying the entire castle and tainted area around it. When that was done she let out a laugh and turned to Kagura, Kohaku, and Kanna who had just been thrown to the side by Inutaisho and who were watching wide eyed. Kagura suddenly pulsed and cried out. Then she started to laugh.

"I can feel my heart beat." She laughed.

Kanna smiled. Then she walked up to Kagome. She held the mirror up and suddenly all the spirits in it shot off in different directions. One even shot to Kohaku who gasped. The jewel fell out of his back but he stayed sitting. He blinked and then smiled.

"Naraku had me suck Kohaku's wandering spirit into the mirror so he would be able to be used." Kanna said quietly.

Then she handed Kagome the mirror. Kagome blinked.

"You won the fight and I do not need it anymore. You should be able to use it." She whispered softly.

"Thank you." Kagome said softly.

Then Kagura stood up and walked over. She snapped her fan shut and also handed it to Kagome.

"You should be able to control the wind a bit too. It likes you and with the fan will obey you."

"What about you?" Kagome asked taking it.

"I can easily get another." Kagura scoffed.

"Will you wait here with me? The others should arrive shortly after what I just did." Kagome smiled.

Kohaku nodded enthusiastically and Kanna and Kagura shared a look before shrugging. Kagome smiled and looked into the mirror. She thought of Sango and suddenly Sango and the group appeared. They were running as fast as they could this way. Kagome smiled. She then walked over to a stair and sat down. Inutaisho walked towards the castle though.

"I'm going to look around." He said.

Kagome nodded and stayed sitting.

.--.

(Koga)

He was just sitting in his den looking around. The pack was doing well. Now if only he could kill Naraku. Suddenly a scent drifted in on the wind. His eyes widened and he growled as he recognized Naraku's scent. He jumped off and tore away in his tornado leaving his two right hand men behind.

.--.

(Sesshomaru)

He watched as Rin played in the flowers, Jaken grumbled while also watching the girl, and A-un ate some grass. He was a bit annoyed that he hadn't been able to find any trace of Naraku. He had checked on Inuyasha and his group to see if they had found any clues, not to long ago. Inuyasha had challenged him and said they didn't know anything. One thing he had noticed was that the odd miko wasn't with them instead the clay pot was. When he had asked they had all wilted then glared at Inuyasha except for the clay pot who smirked smugly. He had just left after that. Suddenly a scent drifted down on the wind. He stood quickly as he recognized it. He growled softly making everyone look at him. Then he flew off into the sky. He saw Rin and Jaken scramble on A-un before following. He almost told them to stay but he knew Rin would follow anyways. Over the years he had had her she had grown stubborn. He sighed but continued. He didn't want to lose the scent besides he could protect the girl if need be.

.--.

(Inuyasha and Gang)

They were all walking quietly down the road. Shippo was talking to Kirara though and Sango was talking to Miroku. Kikyo was hanging of off Inuyasha's arm and snuggling up to him. He did love her but was still sad that Kagome had left and found them how she had. He had tried to go back in the well but it was sealed. She had taken her two shards with her so the well would let him or her past at least once more and then he would try to apologize to her. He pushed the thoughts away. They hadn't seen a trace of Naraku in weeks and he was annoyed. He started to grumble. Suddenly Kirara perked up and growled. Then he also caught the scent. Without a word he let Kikyo on his back and took off the others left to follow.

.--.

(Back To Kagome)

She was getting a bit bored just sitting there when a familiar face entered the court yard. It was Sesshomaru. At almost the exact same time Inuyasha and the group came in another way and Koga came in another way. They looked around and all their eyes rested on Kagome. She smiled and waved with a grin. They gaped for a minute before Shippo was in her arms.

"Kagome! I thought you wouldn't come back!" He cried.

"Well I did." She said cuddling the Kitsune.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked softly.

She smiled at him.

"Hi guys." She said.

"You're a demon." Miroku said quietly.

"Yup. I'm a black neko youkai one of the last."

"We thought you went home. How did you become a demon?" Sango asked.

"Well I went home for a day. Then I came back and went to train with a man named Kai. I learned I was a neko demon, and the lady and the rightful ruler of the North." Kagome said with a smile.

"Where is Naraku?" Sesshomaru asked suddenly starling everyone.

"Oh I killed him. His clothes are over there, his body disintegrated, I have most of the jewel, and Kohaku, Kanna, and Kagura are free." She said with a dismissal wave of her hand.

They all gaped at her. Then Koga laughed.

"Good one. Now where is Naraku?"

"Dead." Kagura said.

They all seemed to just notice the three. Kohaku stood up and slowly walked towards Sango who starred. Then suddenly she started to cry. Kohaku ran over to her and squeezed her in a hug. She hugged back. Kagome sighed. Kagura then handed her a feather. Kagome smiled and she smiled back. Then she pulled out her second feather and her and Kanna took off while Kagome stuffed the one feather in her pack.

"Why didn't you kill them?" Miroku asked.

"Because they were with Naraku against there will. They had no choice, just like Kohaku." Kagome said.

"You killed Naraku?" Inuyasha asked making everyone fall silent. "You, Kagome, the weak little woman I knew?"

Kagome glared at him as he snorted.

"Yes got a problem with that?" She asked.

"I just can't believe that." He snorted.

Kikyo also snickered.

"Well she did hanyou." A voice growled.

Everyone jumped startled then looked around for the voice.

"Who said that?" Koga asked.

"I did."

Everyone looked at Kagome's waist at Sounga which Inutaisho had returned earlier. They all gaped except Koga who didn't understand what it was.

"How did Sounga get out hell?" Jaken screeched.

He and Rin had arrived a minute ago.

"I just did and I was put into the care of this woman." Sounga growled.

Kagome muffled him with her power and smiled at her. Suddenly Sesshomaru walked forwards. He stopped a foot in front of her.

"First you disappeared, then you kill Naraku, and then you have Sounga. I want answers. You could not have killed Naraku by yourself." He said bluntly.

Kagome smiled up at him.

"I did have help."

Everyone's guard went up.

"Who?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Me."

Everyone looked up at the steps of the castle and gaped at Inutaisho.

"Father?" Sesshomaru finally asked.

Inutaisho grinned.

"Hi Sesshomaru, hi Inuyasha. You know Inuyasha you're a real Jackass." He said.

Everyone blinked. Then Kagome, Koga, Miroku, and Sango burst into laughter.

"He's absolutely right." Sango giggled.

"You can't say that to my Inuyasha." Kikyo growled firing an arrow at Inutaisho.

It stopped short though, hitting Kagome's barrier. They all blinked. Kagome then walked over to Koga ignoring the now gaping Kikyo.

"Koga I'll let you keep your shards for now but I may need them for later."

Koga nodded.

"How did your barrier block my miko powers!?" Kikyo's shrill screech cut through the air.

Kagome turned to her and snorted.

"For one thing I have mastered my powers and second I have more power then you."

Then she walked close to Kikyo while the brothers still gaped at their father. She grabbed the jewel shard from the necklace Kikyo wore. The group had collected one since Kagome had left. Kikyo scowled and reached to take it back. In a second, Kagome had a knife to her throat.

"Move and I will kill you Kikyo." Kagome hissed.

"That is my shard! I am the protector of the jewel and I demand that you give me the shard and whole jewel!" Kikyo commanded.

"You are not pure or strong enough anymore." Kagome said bluntly.

"And you are!? You're a demon. A filthy neko youkai that thinks to highly of herself. You are a vain, weak, and ugly bitch."

Silence rang out. Inuyasha was looking between the two. Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, and Kohaku were all ready to kill Kikyo. Koga was also ready to kill her. Sesshomaru, Rin, and Jaken were just watching closely. And Inutaisho looked blank, though inwardly he was fuming.

"You know what Kikyo. I may be a Neko youkai but just because I'm stronger then you doesn't mean you have to call me a bitch, weak, and vain." Kagome said calmly.

"Well you are." Kikyo snarled.

Kagome gave a snicker at her petty insults. Then in a flash she spun around. Kikyo cried out as Kagome's blade sliced up her arm and down each leg. As soon as Kagome walked off Inuyasha was beside Kikyo while everyone else smirked. Then Sesshomaru turned back to Inutaisho.

"Do you want to become the lord of the West again?" He asked cautiously.

He knew he couldn't win a fight with his father if his father wanted to take back control.

"Naw. I'm travelling with Kagome." Inutaisho yawned.

Sesshomaru looked slightly startled but for no more then a second. He nodded and stepped back. Suddenly Koga ran up to Kagome and clasped her hands.

"Well Kagome since Inuyasha picked the dead clay pot Kikyo why don't you come be my woman. You are even a demon now; and a strong, smart, beautiful one."

Kagome blinked. Suddenly a growl made Koga go rigid. He looked up at Inutaisho along with everyone else. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha looked a bit startled.

"Hands off wolf. She's mine."

Inutaisho walked up and Koga smartly backed away. Kagome smiled at Inutaisho.

"Sei-kun, no need to be possessive. I have no intention of going with him." Kagome said.

Inutaisho calmed and smiled while pulling her close. Now you could say that everyone was shocked while Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were beyond shock. 'He never let anyone call him by his first name let alone Sei-kun. And he's courting Inuyasha's old wench.' Sesshomaru thought. 'My father is courting my Kagome?!' Was all Inuyasha could think. Inutaisho grinned at his shocked sons and growled at Koga.

"Well I'll be going now. Later." Koga said running off as fast as he could (smartly done Koga).

"So you're courting her?" Sesshomaru asked.

Everyone looked at Inutaisho who nodded. Inuyasha snorted. Everyone turned to him.

"Kagome would never go with him. Besides he has already had two wives."

"So? You had two lovers?" Sango said.

"Besides Inuyasha who says I wouldn't go with him?" Kagome asked stubbornly.

"Well considering you like me-"

"I 'liked' you not I 'like' you. You took my heart and played with it, then crushed it. You have no right to say who I love."

"You can't be serious Kagome. I just slept with Kikyo once? Why can't I mate you?' Inuyasha asked.

"Because you slept with her right after proposing to me, you hadn't even mated with me and I was going to be your mate." Kagome said.

"So a lot of demons have two loves." He snarled. "Look at my father, he had two wives."

"But he didn't play them at the same time." Kagome hissed.

"So? Kikyo could just be my concubine."

"I can't love you knowing you still love her, and probably not even if you did stop loving her."

Everyone was kind of just standing there and just watching. Kagome had pulled away from Inutaisho and was a couple feet in front of Inuyasha. They were both glaring at one another.

"I never loved her like I love you. Can't you understand?' Inuyasha asked.

"No. Because I have never done something like that."

"But you probably would have."

"I'm not so dishonourable that I would sleep with another right after proposing to someone."

"It still doesn't mater. I'm trying to say I still love you and I don't love Kikyo as much. I want you to still be my mate."

There was silence for a couple moments.

"Inuyasha…"

Her tone was soft but serious. Everyone strained to hear.

"I gave you my love, my heart, my attention. But what did you do with all that? You took them in your hand and used them before betraying me and throwing me aside for a dead clay pot. Then when I lose my love for you and like someone else you try to tell me you always loved me."

Her voice was still soft but had a sharp edge to it. Everyone was dead silent.

"You had your chance. You threw it away and pushed me side. I do not love you so stop chasing an illusion. Leave me alone. I will always like you as a friend, but no more. Please stop playing with my heart and lying to me."

Then Kagome turned and walked back to Inutaisho who stood waiting. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her against his chest. Then he turned so the others couldn't see her. Everyone else was silent. Inuyasha had a scowl set on his face. He stalked off to the side and jumped to the roof of the castle and sitting with his back to everyone while shoving his hands in his sleeves. Miroku jumped up and started to gather spare wood for a fire and Kirara and Shippo ran off while yelling about a stream and fish. Kohaku and Sango hurried off to the side and started talking quietly. Kikyo had a small pout and was trying to find a way up to Inuyasha. Rin, Jaken, and A-un walked to the middle of the stone courtyard and the dragon laid down while Jaken and Rin ran to Sesshomaru, who still stood watching his father.

"Lord Sesshomaru will we stay here for the night?" Rin asked.

"Yes." The cold lord said.

Rin smiled and skipped off to Kohaku. She grabbed his arm and dragged him out the field in front of the castle towards some flowers. The slayer grinned at her brother and waved before going to the monk. Jaken sat beside A-un, grumbling. After a couple minutes Kagome sat down and Inutaisho sat beside her. They were close to the fire. The slayer was starting to cook some fish the two had caught with the monk beside her. Kirara and Shippo had run out and joined Kohaku and Rin. Kikyo had got up the roof and was cuddled against Inuyasha. Sesshomaru slowly sat across from his father.

"Tell us how you came back to life." He said.

Sango and Miroku stopped chatting, Jaken perked up, Inuyasha's ears twitched and Kikyo turned her head to the others. Inutaisho nodded before quickly telling them. When he was finished the other four had come back. Rin and Shippo launched at Kagome. Kirara sat beside her mistress and Kohaku also sat beside his sister. Rin and Shippo were grinning.

"Kagome, Shippo says you have interesting things in your bag, can I see?"

Kagome blinked.

"I meant the ramen and candy." Shippo said.

Kagome smiled softly.

"I haven't been home in a while but I may have something."

Before she could reach for her bag Shippo was beside it and pulling it over to her. The two sat right in front of her as she opened her pack. Everyone seemed to be watching her now.

"I can look Kagome." Shippo said.

Before she could speak he was right in her bag. She laughed as the bag moved around. Suddenly he popped out his eyes wide.

"Kagome has loads of treasure!"

Everyone blinked. Shippo had an arm full of stuff. He hopped out and dumped it on the stone. Precious gems and coins dropped to the ground. Sesshomaru gaped at a small black stone with gold slivers the size of a robin's egg.

"That's a black fire stone."

"Those are rare… I haven't seen one in almost two thousand years." Inutaisho said also gaping.

"What's a black fire stone?" Sango asked.

"It's a stone that if held by a person or demons it can increase their power. A lot like the Shikon No Tama. It can also hold power like a reserve." Inutaisho said.

They looked over the stones again. There was a large emerald, rubies, diamonds, sapphires, crystals, pearls, and others. There were a pile of coins too. There were a few other small precious stones some didn't know.

"What's that?" Shippo asked pointing to a red stone.

It was in the shape of a pearl but larger.

"That's a fire crystal. It gives the wearer the ability to control any fire. They are even rarer then the black fire stone."

They also spotted two more like the fire crystal but one was icy blue and the other was a soft green.

"That's an ice crystal and a nature crystal. They allow the wearer to control ice and nature." Inutaisho said.

"How did you get all this?" Sesshomaru asked Kagome in disbelief.

The two demon lords were stunned. Sesshomaru had never seen these jewels or any of their kind, only in paintings and scrolls, and Inutaisho hadn't seen them for thousands of years. He hadn't even noticed when she had found them. Kagome blinked and fidgeted a bit.

"Well I like shiny things. I found lots of the jewels and such when I killed some bandits and I found some at the bottom of the ocean. The other ones I got from an old demon woman who was dying. She told me I was pure enough to have them and just handed them to me. I never knew they were rare of powerful. I just liked them because they were shiny." She blushed.

Jaken started to laugh uproariously, thumping the grounds with his hands, tears in his eyes.

"A neko youkai found some of the rarest jewels on the earth and kept them because they were shiny and she thought they were pretty!"

Everyone else grinned. Even Sesshomaru's mouth twitched. Kagome scooped her small fortune up and dumped it back in her pack. Shippo squeaked as they fell on him. He jumped out of the bag again. This time he had a bunch of small lumps of metals and rocks. Sesshomaru and Inutaisho immediately recognized gold, silver, nickel, copper, white gold, and a few other metals. The rocks were mostly ordinary rocks with sparkly spots in them. But some had flecks of gold, silver, or other elements. When Kagome also put these back in Shippo came out once more with a couple suckers. He gave one to Rin, Kohaku, Jaken, Sango, Miroku, Sesshomaru, and Inutaisho. Sesshomaru, Inutaisho, and Jaken all looked at theirs closely.

"What is it?" Jaken asked.

"It's candy. It's called a sucker. It's sweet but not very healthy for you. I get it from my time." Kagome said.

"It's really good master Jaken." Rin squealed happily.

Jaken popped it into his mouth and shrugged. Sesshomaru also did and also shrugged. Finally Inutaisho did. Kagome covered her mouth but giggles still erupted. The two demon lords of the west and the always grumpy vassal were sitting in front of the fire with lollipops sticking out of there mouths. They looked at her once and she calmed. Suddenly her ears twitched as she heard someone walking towards her. She looked behind her to see Inuyasha. He wasn't looking at her and his ears were flat against his head.

"I'm sorry Kagome. My temper and feelings got a hold of me. Can we still be friends?" He asked.

Kagome smiled and nodded. He smiled back and sat down a little distance from her. Kikyo looked a little angry but still sat beside Inuyasha. Kagome also handed Inuyasha a sucker. He smiled before popping it into his mouth. Then Kagome smiled and relaxed.

"Do you have one?" Inutaisho asked.

"Oh its okay. I don't need one." Kagome smiled softly.

"We can share mine." He grinned.

He held it out and she popped it into her mouth. Shippo made a face.

"Gross! Now Inutaisho is going to get girl germs!"

Rin also made a face and giggled. Jaken and Sesshomaru raised eyebrows and the others grinned. Inutaisho made a face at the Kitsune and took the sucker sticking it into his mouth. Rin then ran over and stood in front of Inutaisho.

"Can I all you grandpa?"

Inutaisho blinked. Jaken gaped and Sesshomaru's eyes widened.

"May I ask why?" Inutaisho asked.

"Well because Jaken is like my uncle and Sesshomaru is like my daddy and if you are Sesshomaru's daddy then you would be my grandpa." The girl grinned.

Inutaisho cast a glance at Sesshomaru who was gaping openly at the girl now. Inutaisho grinned and nodded. The girl grinned and ran off to Shippo again.

"I see you did find a human you like." Inutaisho said to Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru just glanced at him before looking away. Everyone sat chatting softly and finishing their suckers. When the fish was finished they all ate. When that was done they all leaned back and relaxed.

"So what is everyone doing after this?" Sango asked.

"Well I have to go to my own time. Then I plan to go to the North." Kagome said.

"I will follow Kagome." Inutaisho said without hesitation.

"I will return to the West." Sesshomaru said.

They all knew Rin, Jaken, and A-un would follow him.

"Sango, Kohaku, Kirara, and I will return to the slayer village and clean it up. While getting married." Miroku said to everyone while Sango blushed.

"We will return to Kaede's village." Kikyo said.

"You had better not try to take Kaede's place." Kagome warned.

"My sister can be the miko. I do not care."

'Yeah right.' Almost everyone thought.

"Where will I go?" Shippo asked.

"Do you want to come with us?" Sango asked.

Shippo looked at Kagome.

"It would be for the best. I will visit you."

"Okay." The Kitsune said.

Everyone fell silent and watched the last embers of the fire fade away. Miroku and Sango lay down beside each other, and Inuyasha and Kikyo sat against the castle wall. Rin curled up against A-un. Sesshomaru leaned against the dragon with Rin against him too. Jaken slept against the dragon and Rin too. Kirara stayed large and Kohaku and Shippo curled up beside her. Inutaisho leaned against the castle wall to, pulling Kagome on his lap again. Then he wrapped her cloak around both of them.


	22. Wolrd Domination : Crossover

It was an ordinary day with our favourite group of jewel shard hunters, and Naraku stalkers. They were just battling a demon, nothing big. Just a demon that looked human but had silver hair, blue eyes, and unreal attacks.

.--.

Kagome growled as she shot her purifying arrow at the demon. The demon looked a lot like a human. Except he had silver hair in a pony tail, unlike most humans. He also wore glasses and a really odd purple like outfit. At his waist were also pouches of odd looking knives and throwing stars. He had a head band with a music symbol on. And on his arm was a second headband with a leaf symbol with a line through it. He also had unreal attacks. He would do these signs with his hands then he would use attacks the group had never seen before. He kept throwing bolts of fire, water, and electricity at them, along with setting up barriers and cloning himself. It was driving everyone nuts. Kagome also sensed an energy circulating inside of him. It was similar to her miko powers but was not any kind of spiritual powers. It flared every time the man used his attacks. Kagome's arrow shot forwards and right through the demons barrier, but with his inhuman speed he ducked in time to dodge it. Kagome scowled. Normally if her arrow even came close to a demon it would purify it but it had only been a normal arrow to him.

"Hey Inuyasha! I think he's human!" Kagome yelled.

Everyone froze.

"What?!" Inuyasha asked.

"I am human idiot. That was what I was trying to say." The man sighed.

Everyone paused. Sango and Miroku jumped back to Kirara and Shippo. Kagome, Kikyo, and Inuyasha jumped together. The man sighed and sat down.

"You guys are good for not being Ninja." He grinned.

"Ninja?" Kagome asked.

The man froze.

"You don't know what ninja are?" He asked.

"We have met a few but none used attacks like you. They were more like Sango." Kagome said.

The man just sat there starring. Then he covered his face with his hands and groaned. Kagome skipped up to him dodging Inuyasha's attempts to pull her back. She sat crouched beside the man and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Where are you from?" She asked.

"I'm from the country of fire."

"There is no country called that in any part of the world." Kagome said.

He groaned.

"Then I wasn't dreaming that."

"Dreaming what?" Kagome asked.

"Well I was running in the trees then suddenly I was surrounded by a large pillar of white light. A woman who looked a lot like you appeared. She had long black hair, blue eyes, and some armour on along with an outfit like yours. She had a pink jewel around her neck. She was see-through and a bit white like a spirit. She told me I was to go to another dimension and give a woman this before the white surrounded me and I appeared here."

He held up a silver chain with a locket on it. Kagome gasped and starred at it a second. Then she pulled her bag off. She sorted through it and found some water and food.

"Put that away from a moment and eat this while I talk with my friends."

He gave her a thankful look and stared to eat while she walked back to her friends. She gathered them around.

"He's a ninja. He said a spirit sent him here. He describes that the spirit looked like Midoriko. She said the ninja was to give a certain woman a locket he holds. That locket is mine."

Everyone gasped. Kikyo sighed, drawing attention to her.

"You know you are not my reincarnation now. We all thought you were. But that incident two years ago when I almost killed you and the rest of my soul returned to me and you still lived proved we weren't incarnates. You also changed after that. Like you eyes turned blue and such. I think you are Midoriko's reincarnation."

They all starred but Kagome nodded.

"I need to tell you all something." Kagome whispered.

They all looked at her.

"I never really came from the future through the well."

They starred.

"My mother said I appeared in her yard in a flash of white when I was ten."

They all starred more.

"She said at the time I had been wearing a headband with no symbol on it. I also had pouches with ninja weapons. All I can remember was a man standing over me doing really fast signs with his hands. My mother thinks I came from another dimension."

They all gaped.

"Then could this man have been sent to take you back?" Sango asked.

Kagome nodded slowly.

"I think that is the reason he is here."

"What if something happens once you take the necklace?" Kikyo asked.

"I'm going to take it. If I do return to the other place, know I love you all."

"You don't have to take it Kagome." Shippo sniffed.

"Yes I do." Kagome said.

"Why?" Miroku asked.

"I have felt a piece of me missing forever. This may hold a lot of answers I want."

They all wilted.

"Nothing may happen." Kagome smiled.

"If something does happen take these. Then you will have to come back." Kikyo said handing Kagome the five jewel shards they had.

Kagome looked at them. It had been four years since she had fallen through the well. Two years when Kikyo's soul had returned and she had lost her hate and taint she had joined them. Kagome had let her keep the shards. Now Kikyo was giving them to her. Kagome took them.

"If I do leave make sure you hold off all weddings for me to return." Kagome grinned.

Sango and Miroku nodded and clasped hands. Kikyo and Inuyasha nodded and held each other. Kagome grinned. Kagome turned to the ninja still waiting. She stepped up to him. He stood. Kagome swung her bag on.

"May I ask your name?" She asked.

"Kabuto. Yours?"

"Kagome." She smiled.

Then she frowned. She starred at his leaf head band a moment. The scratch through the symbol had a meaning. She was sure of it. It was on the tip of her mind.

"Criminal?" She asked slowly.

"Yes, I'm a criminal." He said.

She nodded still thoughtful.

"Why do you wear two?" She asked.

"I used to belong to Konoha, but then betrayed it and joined Sound."

She nodded. Then she perked up. Kabuto watched her. She held out a hand.

"You have something that belongs to me."

He blinked then slowly pulled the locket from his pocket. He gave it to her. As soon as the cool metal touched her palm they were both surrounded by a bright white light. Kagome closed her eyes as memories flashed by her eyes. She gasped. She could remember an attack. Then she remembered someone sealing her memories in the locket and sending her to another dimension. She remembered the ninja academy. She remembered graduating. That had been almost thirty years ago. She remembered her crimes, her enemies, her allies, her duties, her life, her immortality. She laughed once. The locket had held her memories in. It had locked her away so she wouldn't repeat her crimes in the ninja world. But here she was remembering everything and being sent back to fulfill her old plans.

Then the white light felt hot. The two gasped and everything seemed to crumble. Then suddenly it rebuilt and they were in a forest clearing surrounded by people. The light started to fade. Kagome's eyes widened as she touched down. She looked at the people surrounding her. She saw a group of eight men in black cloaks with red clouds to her left. To her right was a group of twelve people all in different clothes but with leaf headbands. And directly in front of her was a man who resembled a snake, a man with hair in the style of a chicken's ass, and twenty people with headbands like Kabuto's. Everyone was starring at them wide eyed. Kabuto jumped to the snake and his group. He smirked.

"Where did you go Kabuto? You vanished in a white light to reappear with a woman." The snake hissed.

"I was pulled to another dimension to give that woman something. Then we were both pulled back here." Kabuto said.

"Another dimension." Almost everyone whispered in amazement.

"Could you get back?" The snake asked.

"I doubt I could. But I think that woman knows a way." He said.

Kagome scowled as everyone starred at her again. She backed up a step and her legs hit something hard. She cast a quick glance back. Her eyes widened as they fell on the old well. Now she knew a way back to the feudal era. She kept her eyes on everyone as she slowly slipped her jewel shards in her pouch. Then her hand rested on her sword hilt.

.--.

Everyone watched the strange girl. She wore an old fashioned pair of deep blue hakamas, an icy blue kimono like top, tied with a deep blue sash. In her sash was a pouch they had all seen her put something in. She also had a black bag on her back, along with a quiver of arrows and a bow. At her waist with the pouch was also a sword. She rested her hand on the hilt as she backed into the well. The three groups glanced at one another. They had all met up almost coincidently. The Konoha ninja had all been on a mission, the Akatsuki had been going for sound, and sound had been going for Konoha. Now here they all were standing facing one another with an odd girl.

.--.

Suddenly the Kyuubi gasped. Kagome looked at him and froze.

"Naruto?" She asked.

"Hai." He whispered.

She scowled. She held a hand out to him. He looked at it and everyone felt confused. Naruto stepped forwards. The man with silver hair and a mask grabbed him and held him back. Naruto looked up at him and back at the girl. The girl pulled her hand back.

"You are not yet ready to join me Kyuubi?" She asked.

Everyone blinked. Naruto bit his lip.

"No. I'm not. Kyuubi is." He whispered.

"What do you want with the Kyuubi?" The snake asked.

Kagome focused on him and grinned.

"Orochimaru." She grinned.

His eyes widened.

"You." He whispered.

He backed up a step as Kagome grinned more. Everyone was watching very closely.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"You have Midoriko to thank for bringing me back and giving me my memories." She laughed.

He paled surprising everyone.

"But she's dead. She died before you were even born." He whispered.

"I am her reincarnation." Kagome grinned.

Then snake took another step back. The boy beside him scowled.

"Ahhh, an Uchiha. Two Uchihas." She said looking at the man with long black hair in the Akatsuki cloak.

The two scowled. Kagome smirked. She glanced over at the Konoha ninja and looked them over. Her eyes rested on the pink haired girl and she grinned. The girl gulped.

"A Haruno too. Interesting."

Everyone looked at the girl.

"What is so important about the Harunos? They are just regular people with chakra, no kekkai genkai." The Uchiha beside Orochimaru sneered.

Kagome's eyebrow raised.

"How many of you are there left?" She asked the girl.

The girl swallowed.

"There's only me."

Kagome starred.

"You are the last Haruno." She asked slowly.

The girl nodded.

"My clan was murdered." She whispered.

"Clan?" Naruto asked.

"So none of you know of the Haruno clan?" Kagome asked looking at everyone.

They all shook their heads. Kagome let out a laugh.

"Sakura… would that be your name?" Kagome asked.

The girl nodded.

"I thoughts so. They always name their children after plants."

They were all listening closely.

"Sakura, come here a moment." Kagome said.

The girl looked at her. She slowly stepped forwards. No one else moves. Sakura stepped right up beside Kagome. Kagome rested a hand on her forehead.

"You have mastered you powers."

"Hai." The girl whispered.

"What powers?" The silver haired, masked man asked.

"They do not know. The Haruno clan has fallen indeed." Kagome sighed.

"The Hokage, Sarutobi, covered it up." Sakura whispered.

"What power does the Haruno clan have?" Kabuto asked.

"Sakura?" Kagome asked.

She swallowed.

"We control nature, and have the best medic abilities of all ninja." She whispered.

"Control nature?" Naruto asked.

Sakura pointed to the ground and flicked a finger. A flower started to grow while everyone starred.

"Good child. You have mastered your powers well." Kagome whispered.

Sakura gave a small smile and hurried back to her group who starred at her. Kagome looked up and scanned everyone.

"I see a few I recognize; Orochimaru, the two Uchihas, the Haruno, the Kyuubi."

Everyone starred a minute.

"You!"

Everyone looked at the blonde woman who had dropped from the trees. Kagome grinned even more.

"Tsunade." She said.

"Tsunade-sama what are you doing here?" Kakashi asked.

She ignored him and starred at Kagome then she looked at Orochimaru who was still watching Kagome.

"I thought we had got rid of her." Tsunade said.

"I did too." He whispered.

"How did she get back?!" Tsunade yelled.

"It seems as if Midoriko's spirit wanted me to come back." Kagome grinned.

"We sealed your memories away." Tsunade said.

"What is going on?" Itachi interrupted.

"This woman is named Kagome." Tsunade said.

"Yes, and I'm very dangerous, blah, blah, blah. You say that every time people ask who I am." Kagome said.

"You shouldn't have been able to come back." Tsunade breathed.

"Sorry to break your hope, but I'm back and stronger." Kagome grinned.

Everyone was shocked when Orochimaru jumped beside Tsunade and they looked at one another calmly.

"We can try to seal her again." Orochimaru hissed.

"You won't be able to Orochimaru."

They looked at Kagome.

"Why not?" Tsunade asked.

"Because I know how to break the seal and I know how to avoid it."

"Why are Tsunade and Orochimaru, complete enemies, working together?" Itachi interrupted.

"You don't know what she has done." Orochimaru hissed pointing to Kagome.

"But you can still both be punished for siding even if Tsunade is Hokage." Kakashi whispered.

"I'd die to seal her away." Tsunade said.

"Now Tsunade my plans aren't that bad, I guess I did get carried away last time, but I'm not going to get so carried away this time. I swear it." Kagome said.

"What did she do?" The red head in the cloak asked.

"She was behind some of the largest clan genocides, wars, and the sealed beasts." Tsunade whispered.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"What do you want with Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"I want the Kyuubi in him." Kagome said.

"Akatsuki also wants it." Naruto said.

"Really?" Kagome asked cheerfully.

Most nodded.

"How could she have been after him? She would only be his age when after him." Itachi said.

"She's immortal." Orochimaru whispered.

Everyone gaped.

"I'm close enough to immortal at least. I can still be killed but I can live forever." Kagome said.

They all starred at her. She looked around again.

"How long have I been gone?" She asked.

"Ten years." Tsunade said.

"Ten years. My followers will still be around." She grinned.

"You won't make it out of this clearing." Tsunade and Orochimaru hissed.

"But I believe I will." Kagome grinned.

"We can not let her leave at all costs." Tsunade said to the Konoha ninja.

"Hai." They all said.

"Same with us." said Orochimaru.

The sound got ready.

"Do you know what I did for those ten years Tsunade?" Kagome asked.

Tsunade gulped at her grin.

"I became wiser. I also became stronger. I dare you to take me on."

Tsunade swallowed hard.

"You are the one who killed my parents, you killed numerous other clans, you raised an army, and you were the one who summoned the tailed beasts."

Everyone's eyes widened at Tsunade's list.

"You summoned the nine tailed beasts?" The plant man on Akatsuki side asked.

"Yes. But all the foolish Kage's sealed them away before they could do much damage." Kagome sighed.

"Do much damage?! They killed hundreds!" Tsunade yelled.

"Of course. I was trying to take over all the ninja villages but I see now it will be hard. I will abandon that plan and switch to plan B." Kagome grinned. "But at the moment I must go back to the other world. I have some friends I need to talk with."

.--.

All of them watched as Kagome jumped onto the rim of the well. She bowed and jumped back. They watched as she fell into a burst of blue light and vanished. Tsunade covered her face in her hands. Akatsuki stood ready to go.

"Wait." Tsunade said.

Everyone glanced at her.

"We must tell you about Kagome or she'll wipe you out." Tsunade said.

Orochimaru nodded.

"One woman could not destroy Akatsuki." Kisame said.

"She is not one woman." Tsunade snapped.

Everyone blinked at her. She walked to the well and looked down. Then she sat on the rim.

"Ten years ago we sealed that woman's memories away. We also changed her into a child. Then we sent her to another world. Sarutobi, Jiraya, Orochimaru, and I did. We thought we had got rid of her." She sighed.

"Why would you do that?" Itachi asked.

"We don't know how but Kagome found out the secret to immortality. She found that secret out fifty years ago. She left Konoha and everyone thought she had died. For years she set up secret base we never knew of, and found loyal followers. She also became Kages of over two smaller villages, and somehow infiltrated the larger villages and became part of the councils. None knew this till she attacked. She started to kill off the strongest clans that were against her. She also destroyed whole villages of civilians. Then she released the tailed beasts. Luckily we found a way to seal them. But then she went after those with the demons sealed in them. She offered to take the cursed demons away from them, or offered to let them join her and she would treat them nicely. She also started to kill off smaller clans and take those who promised loyalty to her. She was destroying the ninja world. The secret that only one immortal woman led the army that was tarring us up, was hushed up. Everyone thought it was a secret village and its council, not a former Konoha ninja. Then we caught her. I think she got purposely caught. Sarutobi, Jiraya, Orochimaru, and I all sealed her away. We never found out her plans or what she was aiming for but as you see she didn't return and everyone soon forgot about it except the elders. But here she is back." Tsunade said.

Everyone was starring at her except Naruto and Orochimaru. Tsunade looked up at Naruto.

"She was trying to get Naruto to join her but we found out and pulled him back."

Then Tsunade looked at Neji and Hinata.

"She also set up the kidnapping of Hinata that got Neji's father killed. And she was the one behind the murder of the Haruno clan. The Haruno clan's leader found out something about her. He tried to tell the Hokage but then they were all killed except Sakura who had been at a friend's for the night."

Sakura was starring at her. Tsunade looked around.

"We must go prepare for her. She will be after Sound. She warned me as we sealed her that if I started an organization called Sound she would come for me." Orochimaru said.

"How did she know you would start Sound?" Sasori asked.

"She has the ability to see certain events in the future." Tsunade said.

Orochimaru nodded and motioned to his group. They all shot back into the trees. The Konoha ninja waited for instructions.

"We must alert the council and be ready. We will head back to Konoha. I would like to wait here for Kagome but she was right. We would not be able to beat her." Tsunade said.

She glanced at Akatsuki as she stood.

"I have warned you."

Then the Konoha ninja all ran off too. Akatsuki stood there.

"Are they telling the truth?" Kisame asked.

"My father told me something similar to this." Itachi said.

Suddenly they heard Tobi yelp. They spun to him. He was touching the air between the trees at the edge of the clearing. As he touched it blue light sprang up. Itachi hurried forwards and touched it to. He walked along feeling it. It surrounded them, even when they jumped up.

"We're trapped in by a barrier." Sasori said.

"Was it sound or Konoha?" Zetsu asked.

"I doubt it. They both looked too shaken up to do anything." Itachi said.

"Then the woman…" Kisame said.

They looked to the well where she had disappeared. They sighed. Itachi sat down. They couldn't get out. They were trapped till Kagome returned.

.--.

Kagome stepped from the well and looked around at the feudal era. She laughed and ran down the trail with her ninja speed. She hurried to where she had last left the group. She only had to run for about ten minutes until she spotted them. She leapt from the trees she had been in and waited for them. They ran towards her.

"How did you get back Kagome?" Miroku asked as she smiled.

"I appeared by the well in the ninja world."

"Are you going to stay here?" Sango asked smiling

Kagome smirked evilly. They all stopped smiling and backed up a step.

"Oh no." She chuckled. "That locket held my memories and when they returned I remembered who I had been. It seems some people trapped my memories in the locket then turned me into a kid and sent me to the future."

"So you got your memories back? That's great." Inuyasha said slowly.

"What happened?" Someone asked.

They looked at Koga and Sesshomaru as they stepped from the trees.

"We ran into a ninja who had been sent here by Midoriko's spirit to give me a locket. It held my memories. It seems I'm from the ninja world and I had my memories stored in the locket when the leader of a place turned me into a kid and sent me to the future." Kagome smiled.

"Why would they do that?" Koga asked scowling.

Kagome smirked. They all stepped back again, even Sesshomaru.

"Well for one I was too strong, and for the second reason because I tried to destroy the world."

Everyone starred at her.

"What?" Sesshomaru asked.

"I tried to destroy that world with my army. I almost succeeded too. I killed hundred and had a huge army." Kagome chuckled.

"You're lying. The Kagome we know wouldn't do that." Kikyo said.

"I am not lying. I just remembered who I was. I am an immortal ninja who was bent on destroying the world. I still am. I have come to say farewell for now. Carry on without me." She grinned.

They all starred at her. Suddenly they heard a chuckle. Naraku stepped out from the bushes. They all drew their weapons except Kagome.

"So the little miko is an immortal from another world. Interesting." Naraku said.

"Yes. I'm going back so I can finish my plan B." She nodded. "Can I have the jewel?"

Naraku smirked as Kagome jumped beside him, and as everyone starred.

"Only if I can come with you." Naraku said.

"Deal. I could use your help."

Naraku grinned. Everyone stood gaping. Kanna, Kohaku, and Kagura stepped from the bushes too.

"Don't take Kohaku, please." Sango said. "Release him."

"I could use him though." Kagome grinned.

Sango sobbed.

"We won't let you leave." Inuyasha whispered. "Even it means hurting you Kagome."

Kagome just grinned and released her miko powers. Everyone but Naraku and his group were blown back unconscious. Kagome laughed. Naraku pulled his baboon hood back. He looked at her with calm but cautious eyes.

"I joined you because I wanted to and because if we fought you would win hands down." He said quietly. "And they were gaining on me." He said motioning to the others.

Kagome grinned and motioned them all to follow her. The five sped off through the trees back towards the well. When they reached it they all hoped down and were surrounded by the blue light.

.--.

The Akatsuki members looked up as the well gave off a blue light. They blinked as Kagome, a man in a baboon pelt, a woman with red eyes and black hair, a small albino teen, and a boy in armour jumped from the well. Kagome grinned at them.

"Seems my barrier worked."

The men looked at her as they got ready.

"Who are they?" The man in the pelt asked.

"These are Akatsuki members. They are a criminal organization." Kagome said.

The man laughed and pulled his hood back. He had long wavy black hair down to his waist and red eyes that said he was as far from innocent as you could get. Suddenly the man pulled a purple jewel from his pouch. He handed it to Kagome an it turned a pink color.

"Why are they here?" Naraku asked.

"All in do time Naraku." Kagome said.

"What do you want, un?" Deidara asked.

"I wish to see your leader." She said.

Everyone in the group glanced at Itachi who nodded. They all saw the blue barrier disintegrate with his nod.

"Okay then. If I know correctly you are Uchiha Itachi." She said.

Itachi nodded.

"This is Deidara, Sasori, Zetsu, Tobi, and Kisame." Itachi said.

"This is Kagura, Kanna, Kohaku, and Naraku." She said.

Kagura snapped a fan open and hid the bottom half of her face.

"Naraku why did I have to come?" Kagura asked.

"Because if you didn't I would have just killed you." Naraku chuckled.

"I do not mind coming." Kanna said.

The boy Kohaku didn't say anything, he hadn't even twitched since they had jumped from the well. Sasori took a step forwards and looked at the boy.

"You are controlling him like a puppet." He said.

Naraku chuckled.

"Yes. He is very useful."

"Poor Sango though, using her own brother against her." Kagome tsked.

Naraku laughed.

"And you, you use puppets too?" Naraku asked.

Sasori nodded.

Do you kill the people first?" Naraku asked.

Sasori nodded again. Naraku laughed.

"I like to keep mine alive and suffering." He grinned.

The Akatsuki members starred. Naraku snapped his fingers. Kohaku slumped then he stood straight and blinked. He looked around and gasped. He fell back. They all watched as he pulled a chain and sickle free. He threw it at Naraku who actually caught it.

"You!" Kohaku screamed.

Kohaku lunged at him blade out.

"You made me kill my family. You made me try to kill my sister." He sobbed trying to hit Naraku.

"Now calm down Kohaku." Kagome said.

Kohaku looked up at her.

"I hate you all." He hissed. "I curse you to hell."

Suddenly Naraku snapped his fingers again. Kohaku slumped only to straighten and look like a statue as he didn't move

"See? He is a nice puppet. I made him kill his family as I killed his village, then I made him try and kill his sister and her friends." Naraku laughed.

"That's crazy, un." Deidara said.

"No, it's fun. I like to watch them suffer. It is so much more fun then having them die right away. And I can use him. Just like I use Kagura and Kanna." He smirked.

"They are puppets too?" Kisame asked looking at the women.

"No. I wish I was though, so I didn't have to remember any of this." Kagura snapped.

"How does he control you?" Zetsu asked.

Kagura scowled and Naraku held out a glowing red sphere in his hand.

"This is her heart." He grinned.

All of them starred.

"Watch." Naraku said.

He squeezed the heart. Kagura screamed and collapsed withering in pain. She started to sob and scream. They all watched her. Even after Naraku stopped squeezing she sobbed into the ground.

"What about the white girl?" Tobi asked.

"I have her heart too but I never need to punish her since she is smart enough to listen to me. Besides she has no will. But Kagura here has tried to betray and kill me more then once." Naraku said.

The members glanced at the straightening Kagura.

"Will you take us to you leader?" Kagome interrupted.

"Hai." Itachi said.

"Will they come?" Sasori asked nodding to Naraku and them.

Kagome nodded.

"Can they keep up?" Kisame asked.

"Kohaku is as good as any ninja and Kagura and Kanna have a ride." Kagome said.

The men all nodded. Kagura scowled and pulled a feather from her hair. The Akatsuki members all watched in surprise as in a gust of wind the feather enlarged. Kanna and Kagura hopped on and waited. Kagome grinned and nodded to Itachi who leapt into the trees. All the others followed his example always giving Naraku, Kagome, and Kohaku space as Kagura and Kanna flew above the trees.


	23. Controlled : Crossover

Pein, who was currently sitting at his desk doing paperwork, had found a letter that had been recently sent to him. He looked at it a moment then tore the envelop open. He looked down at the paper and blinked as her read it.

'_Dear Pein,_

_I'm sorry I haven't written to you in so long. We actually haven't talked in almost ten years. I wish to say sorry about our visiting schedule. I know our daughter used to come visit you once a year. We had some complications at home and you haven't seen her for four years. I'm truly sorry. I know she wrote to you frequently. I'm sending her to you. This isn't a visit. She will be staying with you.'_

He blinked. Saku had always been against Kagome living in the ninja world. She had moved with Kagome to the civilian island when Kagome had been two. The civilian island was a large island that held a few cities and no ninja arts were practiced their. It was a paradise for those who didn't like ninja. There was a large barrier around the whole place so that all chakra was useless on the island. It had been made ages ago by a lot of ninja. Well Saku had taken their daughter and moved there with her father. She had been against their daughter living her. She had thought it was too dangerous. Their daughter did visit him once a year for a week in the summer though. She hadn't come in four years though. Ever since her fifteenth birthday she had started to write more but she hadn't visited. Pein had wondered why. And now here in the letter Saku said she was coming to stay. He shook the thoughts away and looked back down at the letter.

'_I know it is sudden but I think it would be for the best. She hasn't been….well. She has changed. I'm hoping you can help her._

_From Saku.'_

Pein sat back and almost groaned. Saku didn't know he was the leader of a criminal organization. It wasn't the best idea to keep his daughter here. Too dangerous. But it seemed he had no choice. He briefly wondered why she wasn't well. He wondered what his daughter would think when she saw what he was the leader of; a group of S-class criminals. He had taught her all about the ninja world when she came and visited the last times and she could already use her chakra perfectly. It had been surprising that she was so good when she had so little training. Well he had taught her about history too. Oh and he had never told her he was Akatsuki's leader. When she had visited he had rented a hotel room and showed her around different villages. He had never brought her to the hide out. He sighed and stood. He had better tell the others his daughter was coming. Pein walked out the door and down the halls. He finally reached the door he wanted and it sprung open. A grinning blonde stood there.

"Yes, un?" Deidara asked.

"I need you to get the others. There is a meeting."

He nodded quickly and ran past Pein. Pein shook his head and walked to the meeting room. The deep blue room was silent and empty. Pein walked down the long table to his chair at the head. He sat back and started to go over his plans in his head. It wasn't to long before Sasori, Deidara, Itachi, Kisame, Hidan, Kakuzu, Tobi, Zetsu, and Konan also sat watching me. Pein sighed and they listened closely.

"I wish to announce that my daughter is coming to stay with us."

There was silence. Blinking. Silence.

"WHAT?!" Kisame, Hidan, and Deidara yelled.

The others just had widened eyes and under-control-shock.

"You have a daughter?" Konan asked.

"Yes."

"What about a wife?" She asked.

Pein sighed.

"I'll tell you the whole story. About twenty years ago I married a woman named Saku. It was an arranged marriage made between her mother and my mother. We married at seventeen. We had one daughter. Then when our daughter was two Saku's mother passed away. Mine had died a year earlier. We immediately divorced. We were friends but never lovers. Saku took our daughter and move to the civilian island. My daughter has visited me once a year for the past seventeen years. She stopped a couple years ago but we are always staying in touch."

"So why did you two have a kid if you didn't love each other?" Kisame asked.

"Well the night of our wedding our friends held a party. It was a bit wild and I can only remember the first hour. I got so drunk it wasn't even funny." Pein groaned.

Some of the others grinned.

"Saku also got drunk. I think my scheming mother put something in our drinks too. Well nine months later we have a daughter. I still wish I could remember what else we did that night. I remember that my friends couldn't look at me without laughing for weeks."

Everyone was fighting obvious amusement.

"Do you think it's a good idea to bring your daughter here?" A voice cut through the room.

Everyone quieted and glanced at the stoic Uchiha who sat at the end of the table.

"I'm not to sure but I know none of you will harm her."

Pein's tone was dangerous and just dared them to disobey.

"Tobi won't harm her because Tobi is a good boy." Tobi said cheerfully.

Everyone glanced at the man with black hair and an orange swirly mask.

"**We won't harm her."** Zetsu's dark side muttered.

"_Does eating her count as harming her_?" His white side asked.

"Yes." Pein said blandly.

Both sides of Zetsu sighed.

"We won't harm her." The rest said slowly.

"What is her name?' Sasori asked.

"Kagome." Pein replied.

I sat on my bed and looked out my window. Out at the cheery, sunny day, and at the birds on the trees. I watched as the birds tittered and chirped and darted around. They were so carefree and innocent. They reminded me of Rin. I watched them with my eyes but my mind slipped into my memories. No, it slipped into one particular memory.

~~FLASHBACK~~

I was walking through the trees looking for Inuyasha. It was dinner and he had said he was going for a walk. I highly doubted it was just a walk. It was most likely a 'visit' with Kikyo. It was so obvious he had taken her as his mate. When I had been fifteen I would have been broken but now I was seventeen. I didn't need Inuyasha. I knew I would never have his love. I ducked behind a tree as I heard voices. I peered around to see Inuyasha and Kikyo talking.

"You love me right Inuyasha?" she asked.

"Yes of course. I wouldn't have taken you as my mate if I hadn't." He replied.

"Well I was wondering if I could join you group?"

"Of course!"

"What about my reincarnation."

"She'll understand we're friends."

I nodded to myself.

"Well there is one thing. I need my soul back. To get it back you need to kill Kagome."

Inuyasha stumbled back. My eyes widened.

"But Kikyo…."

"Don't you love me?"

"Yes but…"

"No buts. If you love me you'll get my soul back for me."

"Okay Kikyo. Kagome will understand."

My eyes were beyond wide. Suddenly Inuyasha spun to me. His eyes looked a bit sad.

"Oh, you're here. Well I guess I don't have to explain why I have to kill you then."

He lunged at me. I sobbed as I turned. I pushed my chakra into my feet and shot off at my ninja speed which was faster then Inuyasha's.

"What? How the hell did you get so fast!?" Inuyasha yelled after me.

I didn't reply as I shot off. I thanked my father over and over in my head for the even small amount of training he had given me. I heard the cursing of a hanyou behind me and sped up. I stumbled from the trees into a clearing. I almost collided with a tall youkai. They had black hair that seemed to absorb the light. Their hair was in a braid. There eyes were deep blue with wisps of silver. They had two stripes or silver on their face and a silver star on their forehead. He wore a yukata of deep blues and icy blues. At his waist was a sword. He looked a bit like Sesshomaru but I sensed that he was a dragon youkai not an inu. He seemed as strong as the western lord though. I inched back. I had mastered my miko powers and could stand up to him but I wouldn't get out of a fought without some wounds. I backed up again. He just looked at me in curiosity.

"Would you be the miko Kagome?"

I blinked.

"Yes." I said slowly.

"Great. I was looking for you." He grinned.

He may have looked a bit similar to Sesshomaru but he showed emotion!

"Why were you looking for me?"

"My mate is dying. I need a good healer but my head healer said I would need a very strong healer and I heard you were the best."

I nodded. My miko powers were the best healing powers in the land.

"So you want me to heal you mate?' I asked. "Me, a miko?"

"I have no qualms with you and I heard you do not hate demons."

I nodded again.

"If you heal her I will train you." He said seriously.

My eyes sharpened and I almost smiled. I would love some proper training. And he seemed nice enough though I knew appearances could be deceiving.

"I'll do it." I said.

He grinned.

"Good. My name is Misho. I am the lord of the North."

I blinked and then smiled and bowed. He laughed. I suddenly saw Inuyasha burst from the trees.

"Ah, you must tell your friend of your plans." Misho said.

"He is not my friend." I glared at the hanyou who looked at Misho in confusion.

Misho looked at me.

"Don't you travel with him?"

"I did. But he betrayed me." I hissed.

Misho's eyes hardened. He stepped closer to me. Inuyasha glared at us.

"Come on Kagome. I must kill you. Kikyo needs her soul back."

I rolled my eyes. Inuyasha lunged, his claws out. I was about to dodged when an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me into the sky. I looked at Misho who was holding me close to him. Sprouting from his back were two large silver dragon wings. Misho scowled at Inuyasha and suddenly took a deep breath. He breathed out a huge shot of deep blue flames. Inuyasha robe protected him a bit but I had learned dragon fire was the strongest and hottest fire. Inuyasha's robe started to smoke and was already burning a bit. As Inuyasha tried to escape the flames Misho flew off towards the north. I just stayed in his arms watching the trees and ground blur by. I would have to apologize to Sango, Shippo, Kirara, and Shippo, when I got back, for no goodbye, if they stayed alive. Misho grinned at me.

.--.

Well I healed his mate Shiko when we arrived at his castle. True to his word he started to train me soon after. For a year and a half he taught me how to wield the bow, sword, spear, whip, scythe, axe, and any small blade. He also taught me hand to hand combat. He helped my work on my stamina, speed, and stealth. We also worked on my tracking, hunting, and other such skills. When I had free time I stayed with the scholars in his castle and learned all the stuff I had missed in my high school years. I had quite high school at age sixteen since it had been too hard to do during my travels.

So I caught up on my lessons. I had soon found out that though the two were kind and could be very lively, polite, and cheerful, they were killers. They were very good at silent killing and great assassins. They showed their fake nice side to their guests. But to their vassals, and others, including friends they dropped the act. They were cold like Sesshomaru but they showed emotion with the coldness and they were colder. They reminded me of Naraku. They were both sadistic and loved death.

They were ruthless to. They taught me pain, hate, anger, and other emotions and feelings. They turned me into one of them. I no longer held foolish notions that everyone was equal and innocent. They made me completely loyal to them. They had changed me but I liked the change. The old Kagome had disappeared. They taught me so much. When I had finished training I had stayed for a while. During my stay Misho seemed to have fallen for me. He wanted me to be his second wife. I had said I couldn't do that at the moment. He had been upset but had not forced me and said he would wait for me. After a year and a half I left them. I had traveled around for two months until my nineteenth birthday. Then I had headed back to my old group.

.--.

I walked down the dirt trail in my fighting clothes. At my waist were two medium sized swords, a coiled whip, and a small throwing axe. On my back was my favourite weapon. It was like a staff and spear combined. It had two scythe blades on one side and at the top of the staff part was a sharp fancy spear. At the base of the staff was a smaller spear. The whole staff was black with a red snake coiling up it. I didn't like the bow as much and hadn't wanted to drag one with me. My hair that now fell past my waist was in a tight braid. My shoes made soft imprints in the dirt but made no sound. The item I dragged behind me made a small trail. As I walked into the village the villagers pulled back and ran from me screaming. I looked forwards. I didn't bother to even acknowledge the villagers. I walked to the last hut. I sensed the presence of the ones I wished to see inside the hut. I didn't even knock as I pushed the mat aside. I stepped in and looked around. Seven pairs of eyes starred at me in surprise.

"Hey. You can't just walk in." Inuyasha said standing up.

"What do yea want?" Kaede asked.

"Is that any way to greet your old friend?' I asked with cold mockery.

"What?" They all asked.

"I sense my soul in her. It's Kagome." Kikyo breathed.

"No fucking way." Inuyasha gaped slowly.

I snickered.

"It is me fool." I said.

"What happened to you? Two years ago you just disappeared." Sango said standing slowly while gripping her weapon.

They could with out a doubt sense my uncloaked power. Miroku's hands found his staff and Shippo who was in Kikyo's arms cuddled closer to her.

"Mommy?" He asked.

"Don't call me that, filthy kitsune." I snarled.

He jumped. Kirara hissed at me.

"Kagome. It can't be you." Kaede said softly.

"Shut up Kaede." I snapped.

She took a step back.

"I have a present for all of you."

I pulled the item I had been dragging and threw it in front of the group's feet. They all starred at the body of Kohaku. Sango choked and sobbed.

"I killed Naraku. A feat all of you couldn't do."

"But my wind tunnel…" Miroku started.

"Naraku made the curse so that it would never be cured even if you killed him." I snickered.

Miroku starred in shock.

"She has the entire jewel." Kikyo breathed.

I chuckled and held up the jewel from my neck. It was whole.

"Koga hadn't wanted to give his shard to me so I ended up killing him and his whole clan. And I killed Kohaku, Kanna, and Kagura. There is nothing left of the others but I thought Sango might want to be buried with her brother. Isn't that thoughtful of me?"

"But Sango isn't dead…" Miroku started.

My scythe whipped out cutting Sango in half.

"Problem fixed." I laughed.

Everyone starred at Sango's cut up body in pure shock. I lashed out with my scythe again. Miroku didn't even try to stop me. He just looked up pure hate showing in his eyes as I decapitated him. Shippo screamed and Kirara roared. Kirara transformed and lunged at me. I dodged her attack and embedded my scythe in her chest. I almost carved out her heart but Inuyasha made me defend from his Tetsusaiga. I grinned as whipped out a dagger in my other hand and threw it in his throat. He fell back. I spun in another fluid motion killing both Kikyo and Kaede. Shippo was crying and backing away.

"Please don't mommy!" He screamed.

His pleas fell on deaf ears as grabbed him and pinned him against the wall by his throat. I laughed as he slowly strangled to death. When he was dead I tossed his body to the side. I heard breathing still and turned to Inuyasha. I guessed I had just missed killing him as he tried to sit up. He was coifing up blood and trying to pull the dagger out. I grinned and put my scythe to his throat. I cut his head off dimming the light in his eyes. I grabbed my dagger cleaning it before sheathing it. Then I grabbed Inuyasha's head. I cleaned my scythe and retied it to my back. I then walked out laughing with Inuyasha's head and Tetsusaiga in hand. The villagers screamed and ran as I walked out of the village almost whistling.

I walked through the trees to my second destination. I barely walked for five minutes before I fell into a clearing. The sun was already set and the only light came from a fire in the clearing. A little girl darted around after running from a toad/imp. A dragon with two head watched and a Taiyoukai also watched. As soon as I stepped in the clearing all heads snapped to me. I tossed Tetsusaiga and Inuyasha's head to Sesshomaru's feet. Rin screamed at the bloody sight and hid behind the dragon. Jaken stood gaping. Even Sesshomaru's eyes were widened.

"This is from me. I also have a message. 'Lord Misho and Lady Shiko invite you to come visit the north for a ball in a month's time." I laughed.

"You killed him." Jaken whispered. "Even Sesshomaru didn't get to kill him."

"Yes." I grinned

The imp scooted back in fear.

"I have wiped the last slayers, the cursed monk, the kitsune, the neko, the old miko, and the dead miko, from this world."

I couldn't help but laugh cruelly. Sesshomaru watched me closely.

"Naraku, Kanna, and Kagura are dead too."

Sesshomaru's mouth opened then snapped shut.

"I removed the barrier from Tetsusaiga."

He watched me in silence a moment.

"The lord and lady of the North trained you didn't they. Only they would train someone to be as twisted as you." Sesshomaru said softly.

"Yes." I giggled.

He took the Tetsusaiga.

"Well toodles Sesshomaru."

I gave him a Cheshire grin and walked back into the trees. I headed for the old well. When I reached it I jumped into the well and the familiar blue light surround me and I returned to my world.

~~END OF FLASHBACK~~

That had been three days ago. During the last three days I had stayed in my room. Eri, Yuri, Ayumi, and Hojo had come by the first day. I had glared at them and told them to leave. They had left running. My grandfather skirted around me all the time too. He could sense how tainted I had become. My brother had left me alone after I had threatened him with a knife and my mother had left me alone after I had stabbed her arm once. I hated my too innocent family. If I left my room I would have been tempted to kill them. I had only emerged from my room when they were all gone. I was in my room at the moment. Suddenly my door creaked open. My eyes glued to the teen in my room. He gulped.

"Uh….Kagome…." Souta started.

I glared at him. He inched back towards the door.

"Mom has a boat ticket for you. She said you should go visit your dad. You might feel better."

"I feel perfectly fine but I will kill you if you don't leave my room now."

Souta high tailed it out of my room. I thought a moment. I didn't want to go see my innocent father. But I remembered he wasn't as innocent as he had always seemed. It would do me good to go to the ninja world. I could kill there and my father had talked of a group of missing ninja that were S-class criminals. If I didn't fit in with my father I could go to … I think he called it Akatsuki. Well I could go join them. I chuckled softly and stood. I grabbed my bag and stuffed my clothes in. I also stuffed other small things in my bag. Then I strapped my weapons on. Finally I threw on a miko illusion, an illusion made of miko powers. It made me look like a normal girl with a bag. I then walked down the stairs. I found my mother waiting for me as if she knew I would come. She handed me a boat ticket and a map with directions that my father had sent. I sniffed. My hands clenched.

"Goodbye." She said softly.

"I won't come back here unless I can control my urge to kill."

She nodded. She looked like she wanted to hug me but knew it wasn't a smart idea. I pushed past her out the door. Souta stood a ways away with grandpa.

"Goodbye Kagome." My grandfather whispered.

"Bye… sis." Souta said.

"By half brother."

Souta was only my half brother. He had a different dad. I just stalked off without looking back.

.--.

I had walked straight to the boats. I had boarded and holed myself up in my cabin. The ride was a day and a half long. I had arrived in ninja country at noon the next day.

.--.

I stepped off the ship and quickly vanished from the docks. I distanced myself from the port city. When I was alone I took my illusions off. I pulled the map out and took off. By my calculations I could be at my dad's place by sunset if I travelled at my fastest.

We all walked to the front door of the base. Our base was in a large cliff. The front door was a large door in the front of the cliff. The whole place was surrounded by a genjutsu to confuse those who tried to enter. I had changed it so it would let those with Akatsuki rings and my blood could pass through. The genjutsu also notified me if any entered. Less then two minutes ago my daughter Kagome had entered the barrier. I had gathered the others to meet her. We all stood in front of the door waiting. We only had to wait a minute before someone dropped from the trees.

I stared at the woman. She had long black hair in a tight braid. Her outfit was black baggy pants held up by a large black belt with pouches attached. Her shirt showed her belly button and was also a tight black material. It didn't have sleeves; tank top style. At her neck was a long black cloth that acted as a mask which covered everything up to her eyes. The woman had two swords at her waist that looked sharp, deadly, and heavy. She also had a foot long knife tucked in her belt with a small throwing axe and a coiled metal looking whip. On her back was a large scythe like Hidan's but with one less blade and small spears at the ends of the staff. She had a small bag on too. Kagome's once soft brown eyes were hard, sharp, and deadly. Now I saw what Saku had meant when she had said she had changed and why she had sent Kagome here. Kagome was deadly and looked not to have a care or worry. She blinked dully. I starred my mouth open. The other blinked and looked at me for instructions.

They all looked to Pein to see what they should do and to see if it was his daughter. They all gapped at Pein who was gaping at the woman. No one had seen him this surprised; ever.

"Pein." Tobi said.

Pein snapped from his shock. Everyone watched him as he looked the woman over again.

"Kagome?" He asked.

"Hello father."

Everyone almost shivered at her voice. Pein blinked.

"How are you?" He asked.

"Okay."

He stepped forwards smiling.

"Well come in."

She stepped forwards. She followed us in. When they all made it to the living room most sat on the chairs and couches or stood waiting. Pein then cleared his throat.

"Kagome I have to tell you that you are in Akatsuki's base. I'm the leader."

Kagome's eyes widened. 'I'm in Akatsuki. Wow. I hadn't expected that but it's a nice surprise.' She thought.

"Now you guys can introduce yourselves." Pein said.

"I'm Deidara, un! Sasori is my partner. Nice to meet you, un."

"I'm Sasori, a puppet master."

"I'm Hidan, loyal follower or Jashin."

"I'm Kakuzu, Hidan's partner."

"I'm Konan, Pein's partner."

"Tobi is Tobi! Tobi is a good boy!"

"**We are Zetsu**, _Tobi's partner_."

"I'm Kisame. I'm Itachi's partner. Do you like sake?"

"Uchiha Itachi."

"Well I'm Kagome. It's nice to meet you to Deidara and I like sake." Kagome smiled.

"You drink?" Pein asked suddenly

"Sometimes." She sniffed.

Kisame grinned and Pein scowled. Kagome just looked them over.

"So Saku said you weren't well. Did something happen or did you do something?" Pein asked.

Everyone listened closely.

"Well let's see. To sum it up my lover betrayed me, then someone took me in and trained me, then I pretty much vaporized my three worst enemies, killed my friend and his entire clan, I returned to my innocent friends, I cut my adopted sister in half, I had already killed her brother, then I decapitated her fiancé, cut her servants heart out, killed my mentor, killed my other relative-like figure, strangled my adopted son to death, cut the-one-who-betrayed-me's head off, took it to his brother, and gave it to him as a present. Then I returned home. I stabbed my mother, threatened my brother, scared my friends off, and won't talk to my grandfather. That leads us up to now." She said as if telling the weather.

They all starred. Pein was frozen. The Kagome he knew would be distraught just thinking of that. But it seemed four years had changed her, a lot. There was silence and Kagome glanced around.

"Um Kagome, how long will you stay with us?" Pein asked changing the subject.

"Hmmm… I don't quite know. I will stay for a while at least. In a month I must go to my sensei's place. He is having a ball and I am expected to be there. I may stay with him. He understands me, he accepts me, and he helps me. I am his vassal and nothing will take my loyalty from him."

She said the last part sharply.

"Who was you sensei?" Kisame asked.

"A man named Misho. He is my master. You insult him or disrespect him and I will rip your heart out and feed it to the wild animals of the forest."

Kisame shrunk back. They all knew what she had said wasn't an empty threat. It seemed as if they had a new member who was cruel and cold but pretty.

"Well I got a room ready for you." Pein said.

Kagome nodded but looked over the others. They all met her eyes but looked away after a moment; except Itachi. The two starred into one another's eyes for a moment. Then Kagome grinned at him her teeth showing. Those who saw blinked at her small fangs.

"_Fangs_?" Zetsu's white side asked.

Everyone glanced at them.

"Yes." Kagome purred.

"They're probably fucking fake." Hidan snorted.

"Would you like to see?"

Everyone blinked as she was right in front of Hidan. Suddenly she sat on his lap. He tensed as she grabbed his wrist and slowly brought it to her mouth still looking into his eyes. She was grinning as she rested her fangs on his wrist. He was frozen as they all watched. Suddenly she bit into his wrist. He stiffened and everyone watched in surprise. He almost whimpered making everyone's eyes widen. He tried to pull back but Kagome gripped his arms tight. She pulled her head back and everyone saw blood running over Hidan's wrist and dripping off of Kagome's fangs. She leaned in closer her grin still plastered on her face. Hidan almost whimpered again as she breathed on his neck. She licked his neck. But only Hidan felt it and only Itachi saw. Itachi's eyes widened more as he saw a long snake like tongue come from her mouth; like Orochimaru's but smaller.

Then her fangs brushed his neck again sinking into the flesh slowly. He moaned as she stayed like that a second. He withered and everyone watched in surprise and fascination as Hidan's eyes scrunched shut and he withered. He moaned in pain and pleasure and everyone wondered what the hell she was doing. She pulled back and stood up licking the blood from her mouth as Hidan panted. His eyes were half closed and he moaned again. He flinched and whimpered. Everyone watched as he went completely still. The only thing to say he was alive was his quiet ragged breathing. He was completely limp his eyes still only half closed.

"What did you do?" Pein asked quietly.

"I injected a special poison into him. It gives pleasure and pain at the same time. I only gave him enough to knock him out for a few minutes."

"Poison? How?" Kakuzu asked.

"I have poison in me that I release through my fangs. When injected into the blood stream it gives pleasure and pain. I have enough to kill a grown man in ten seconds. I can also use it to just knock people out." She grinned.

Everyone starred at her.

"What poison in you? Is it a kekkai genkai?" Sasori asked.

"No." Kagome grinned. "I won't tell you more…yet."

Then she looked at Hidan again. His breathing was slowly evening out and his body wasn't as limp anymore. His eyes slowly opened and he looked around. He tried to stand but fell back into the chair immediately.

"You will be weak for a couple more minutes. You may see things too. Oh and your voice may not work for a while." Kagome said.

"What did you do?" He rasped.

It barely came out as a whisper and only Kagome and Sasori who was beside him heard.

"Poison." Sasori said.

Hidan just lay back taking deep breaths.

"So are you any good with those weapons?" Konan interrupted.

Everyone gaped as Kagome disappeared only to reappear in front of Konan with one of her daggers at her throat. Konan was absolutely still. Kagome didn't move either.

"Kagome…" Pein said.

Kagome flicked her wrist and the blade spun moving away from Konan's throat. She sighed softly and jumped back to Hidan. She looked at him and touched the two bite wounds with her fingers. Everyone starred as the instantly healed.

"How? You didn't use hand signs." Kisame said.

"Not telling." Kagome said.


	24. Protect Her : Crossover

Itachi's POV:

The old wood floor creaked under our feet. Everyone was silent. Even Deidara was silent for once. We slowly walked forwards towards the alter. The scroll we wanted sat on it covered in dust. Our sandals made prints in the layer of dust on the ground. This shrine had been left untouched for the past two hundred years, in a dark forest, where it had been forgotten about. Kisame stood right behind me and Deidara and Sasori were off to the side slightly. We had all wondered why Pein had sent all four of us to grab the scroll when it was unguarded. We slowly came to the alter. I looked down at the scroll. Then I reached for it. Before my hand came a foot close to it, we were all thrown back by an invisible force. We slid across the wood floor our eyes darting everywhere. Suddenly a white figure appeared, hovering above the scroll. I was guessing it was a spirit. It was a woman too and we could see faint details and colors on her, like black hair, and blue eyes.

"You dare to defile my temple and to try and steal my scroll?" She hissed.

"Yeah, un." Deidara said a-matter-of-factly. "What are you going to do about it, un?"

The spirit glared at him. Then suddenly she smirked. We all shivered slightly.

"Do you know how much power I have?" She asked.

We shook our heads.

"Even though I'm a spirit, one of the dead, I have as much power as from when I was a live. Now how to punish you…"

I heard Deidara gulp. The spirit thought a moment then grinned.

"I think I'll send you to the other dimension."

"The other dimension?" Sasori asked.

"When I was alive I learned how to travel between two dimensions. One is this ninja dimension and the other is one is the feudal era with demons thrown in. That is where the demons from this world come from. They jump between the dimensions and you find them."

We blinked at her.

"Well for disrupting my sleep and invading in my temple I'll send you to the other dimension."

Deidara opened his mouth to say something but before he could the woman started to chant and we were surrounded by a deep blue light. Suddenly she slowly started to fade.

"How do we get back?" I asked quickly.

"The only one with enough power or knowledge to take you back home is a miko named Kagome."

It the last thing the woman said before she was gone. We stayed in the blue glow for a moment. It felt like falling through warm water. Then the blue was gone and we were on dirt ground. I looked at the others. They were all their. I noticed we were in a well. I scowled and jumped from the well. There had been a well beside the temple we had invaded so maybe it was a trick and she had taken us there. When I was out I looked around. I scowled. We were in a large grassy clearing. Trees surrounded the clearing and a soft breeze swayed the grass. The sun beat down. The others jumped beside me and looked around too.

"I thought she was joking, un." He said.

I looked around with my sharingan. It wasn't a genjutsu. I scowled. Maybe it was a dream. But I had read a scroll long ago that talked of another dimension. It seemed that the scroll had been made up at the time, but now I was unsure. The book had said the dimension was a feudal era and infested with demons. I looked around again. There were no 'demons' in sight but I couldn't tell yet.

"Be on your guard. This land may be infested by demons." I said.

"How do you know?" Sasori asked.

"Scroll I read once." I said.

"So what do we do, un?" Deidara asked.

"Find the woman she mentioned." I said.

"I think she said her name is Kagome." Kisame said.

I nodded.

"So where do we start, un?" Deidara asked.

I thought a moment.

"We'll follow the trail."

"What trail?" Kisame asked.

I walked to a bush and moved it aside.

"This one." I said pointing to the worn ground.

They blinked. I just turned and walked down the worn ground. I heard the others follow after a moment. I wondered if the trail led anywhere but kept following. After about ten minutes we emerged from the trees. We climbed a small hill and looked down on a village. By looking at the village we could tell we were in the feudal era. They were all wooden huts with surrounding fields. The people all wore traditional clothes and carried garden tools and such. We saw a shrine stair and saw a hut beside it. I had been every well educated in history while I lived with the Uchihas and I knew that the miko, head, or healer of the village would live closest to the shrine. I set off without a word. As we walked into the village people looked up, then they would whisper and scurry away. When I made it to the last hut I knocked. A moment later the mat was pushed aside as an old woman with an eye patch walked out. She looked us over.

"Who are yea?" she asked.

"We're ninja." I said.

"Ah ninja." She said nodding. "And what do yea want?"

"We are looking for a woman named Kagome." I said.

She looked at me sharply.

"Did Inuyasha or Naraku send you?"

I shook my head and wondered who Naraku and Inuyasha were.

"What do yea want Kagome for?"

"We need her to help us home." Sasori said.

The woman looked at him.

"Come in." she said.

She pushed the mat aside and we slipped in. She followed. We sat on the floor and she sat across from us.

"So yea mean Kagome no harm?" she asked.

"She is our only means home. If we hurt her we are stuck here." Kisame said.

The woman nodded.

"I will not ask where you are from because I doubt you will tell me."

Then she glanced around.

"At the moment I do not know Kagome's exact locations. She stayed low after Inuyasha…."

She bowed her head and seemed to think.

"Well, she be staying low. I think she be in the North."

"So we head north?" Sasori asked.

"Head north and ask for rumours about a strong miko with long black hair and brown eyes."

We nodded.

"Thank you." I said.

"If you run into a hanyou with silver hair, gold eyes, a red outfit, and white dog ears do not trust him and do not give him anything you know on Kagome. And do not trust a miko by the name of Kikyo or a woman slayer by the name of Sango."

I nodded and we slipped off the door. The woman followed. Once outside she pointed in a direction.

"That be north."

We nodded and took off at top speed down the road.

"Seems we may have some interference, from this hanyou, slayer, and miko." I said.

The three around me nodded. We ran on till dusk. We finally slowed and stopped in a clearing for the night. It rained that night and we were glad for the shelter of the trees.

.--.

As soon as the sun was up I woke the others. As we ran through the trees I noticed there were no birds or animals. I slowed and pulled a knife out. The others had also noticed and pulled their weapons out. We heard the roar of something. It wasn't the roar of an animal though. There was silence a moment. Then suddenly a large panther burst from the trees. It looked like a panther but stood upright, was three times as big, and wore clothes. In its hand was also a giant axe.

"Mmh. Humans. You will make a lovely breakfast."

To say the least we were a bit surprised that the thing could talk but quickly dismissed the surprise as it lunged at us. It swung the axe and moved fast for its size. We dodged and Kisame lunged in. the panther screamed as Kisame's sword sliced its chest. It was silenced as Kisame decapitated it though.

"HA! These demons are weak." Kisame laughed.

"Not all demons are weak." Someone said.

We turned to see a small girl appear from the bushes. I wondered how I had not sensed her. She had dark hair and dark eyes. She wore and orange and white kimono and seemed about twelve.

"What are you doing our here?" Sasori asked.

"I got lost." She sighed.

"How far is your village?" Kisame asked.

"I don't belong to a village. I was an orphan when some wolves attacked the village I stayed at. They ate everyone."

She made a face and growled like a wolf.

"They even killed me."

"So you are a spirit?" I asked a bit confused.

"No. Milord saved me with his special sword that brings the dead to life." She grinned.

If they had something like that here it would be unbelievable. I starred at her a moment.

"Tell us of this world." I said.

"Are you from far away?" She asked.

I nodded.

"Okay, I'll tell you."

She sat on a stump and looked at me seriously.

"This place has demons and humans. Humans rule some lands as lords and have armies but most people live in villages and make hard livings. There are also demons too. Demons are like humans. There are some weak but mean like bandits and there are some that are strong and civilized like lords. There are also villages of demons and they're like villages of humans. They aren't they different from humans, just in looks and strength. The one you beat is a weak one. Most demons that travel are like that. The demons that are strong rule all the lands are strong and powerful. The land is split into four. There is the south kingdom, the north kingdom, the west kingdom, and the east kingdom. Each is ruled by a demon lord. They are the strongest demons of all."

I nodded.

"Anything else?" Kisame asked.

"I don't know anything else. That was all Jaken taught me. Sesshomaru told him to teach me but I don't like to listen to his boring talks so I day dream." She grinned.

Right off the bat I knew she wasn't a regular village girl. If she was special enough to get an education in this time she was important.

"Where was the last time you saw your companions?" I asked.

"Well I saw Sesshomaru leave four days ago to go do something. He left me with Jaken and A-un. But a demon split us up and Jaken told me to run. I did and got lost. They could usually smell me out but the rain washed stuff away." she sighed.

"They could smell you, un?" Deidara asked.

"Demons have super senses, they can hear, see, and smell very well. They are also immortal. Even when I walk really quietly like this…"

She paused and walked a couple feet. She hadn't made a sound. It showed she was excellent at stealth.

"Even when I move that quietly they still hear me."

She sighed again and sat down on the stump. She looked to the trees and stayed sitting.

"What are you doing, un?" Deidara asked.

"Well Jaken said if we get separated I was supposed to go back to where we last were or stay still. Since I don't know how to get back I have to stay here."

"What about demons?" Kisame asked.

"Well I can run fast and I can hide well. I hide from Jaken all the time."

"Who is Jaken?" I asked.

"He is my friend. He looks after me when Sesshomaru is gone."

"And who is Sesshomaru?"

"Sesshomaru is like my… well…Jaken is like my uncle and Sesshomaru is like my adopted father." She smiled.

"How far did you run from them?" I asked.

"I don't know. It started to rain as I ran and some demon chased me so I kept running. I think I ran forever. I couldn't get away. Then I finally found somewhere to hide. I stayed there till morning. Then I heard you guys."

We nodded.

"Let's go." I said.

The other three nodded with one glance at the girl. They jumped into the trees. I was about to follow when the girl tugged on my cloak.

"If you see Sesshomaru or Jaken will you tell them where I am? I don't like to be alone and they said I could stay with them forever." She said.

I heard loyalty and dedication in her voice that I rarely ever heard. I watched her a moment. Then I sighed slightly. I scooped her up in my arms.

"You may come with us." I said.

Her eyes lit up and she wrapped her arms around me holding on tight.

"What is your name?" I asked.

"Rin." She said.

I nodded before I jumped into the trees and caught up to the others. Kisame stumbled and almost fell from the trees as he saw the girl first. Sasori looked bored still and Deidara gaped and hit a branch.

"You brought her?" Kisame asked. "I though for sure you would leave her to the mercy of the demons."

"Nh." I said.

The girl looked up at me and smiled slightly. The others watched me as I held her and ran beside them.

"Maybe he's sick, un." Deidara said to Kisame.

I glared at both of them. They shut up. We ran for an hour before we fell from the trees into a grassy field. The girl gasped.

"This is where we were!" She said excitedly.

I looked at her and started to walk. The field was nice. It had a small stream, flowers, and tall green grass. Suddenly we all stopped as we saw a two headed dragon diving from the sky. The girl wiggled from my arms. I let her go and she ran a distance from me. For a moment I though the dragon would attack her. Then it circled and hit the ground. It roared and bounded for her. She laughed.

"A-un!" She laughed.

The two head started to nuzzle her as she hugged them. We stood a small distance away watching. I was the first to notice the green imp thing slid from the dragons back. It held a staff and looked ticked.

"Rin! Where have you been! Do you know how worried we were! Sesshomaru was even worried! How dare you make Sesshomaru worried! You are nothing but a pathetic mortal!"

"But you were the one who told me to run Jaken. And the demon chased me."

We all looked up as a blur appeared from the trees and stood behind the imp, Jaken. It was a tall man with silver hair down to his waist. He had gold eyes and purple stripes on his face. He also had a magenta crescent moon on his forehead, claws, and fangs. He wore a white with red yukata, a yellow and green obi, and a large white boa. We all saw him but the imp didn't seem to notice him.

"If you are so irresponsible next time we won't look for you! Sesshomaru will just kill you next time! We won't have to worry about your worthless life then!" The imp yelled.

"Would you really do that Sesshomaru?" The girl asked.

The imp spun and then bowed low to the ground.

"Forgive this lowly servant Lord Sesshomaru. I was just….just…"

He stuttered to find words. The demon looked down at the imp.

"It's the human's fault." Jaken grovelled.

Suddenly Deidara ducked as the imp flew over his head. I smirked in amusement and looked at the demon that had kicked the imp.

"I'm sorry for making you worry." Rin said.

"Nh." The man said.

His voice sounded cold and blank. He looked at us and cold eyes pierced into mine.

"Who are they?" He asked.

I saw the others shiver at his voice.

"These people helped me Sesshomaru! The one with black hair carried me here!"

"Hn." The lord said.

"Do you know where we can find a miko by the name of Kagome?" I asked coldly.

He looked at me closely.

"Don't you dare speak to Lord Sesshomaru in such a disrespectful tone human!" The imp roared. "Treat the lord of the west with respect!"

I looked over the demon lord of the west. He seemed strong.

"Silence Jaken." He said.

The imp gulped and shrunk back Sesshomaru looked at me again.

"Why do you wish to see the miko?"

"We need her help."

"Nh."

He stood watching me a moment. Then he looked up to the sky. We followed his line of sight to see a giant feather drifting down to us. Suddenly it vanished and a woman jumped to the earth. She wore a white kimono with bursts of color and feathers in her hair. She had red eyes and black hair in a bun. She held an open fan in one hand. Another boy dropped beside her. He wore a tight black outfit with green-blue armour. He had brown hair and dark eyes. He held a blade on a chain.

"Kohaku!" Rin gasped.

I looked the boy over. I scowled as I saw his eyes. They were empty of life. He stood still like a puppet too. It was like what Sasori's puppets looked like but worse almost.

"Kagura." Sesshomaru said.

"Lord Sesshomaru, how are you?"

Sesshomaru glared at her.

"Where is Naraku?" He asked.

"Naraku regrets that he couldn't come fight you himself but he is so busy at the moment."

"Tell me his where abouts." Sesshomaru said with venom.

"Sorry, I can't."

Suddenly the boy lunged forwards.

"Kohaku should keep you busy. Now will you kill him? His sister would be so upset." Kagura said.

"He is nothing but a lifeless puppet."

I glanced at Sasori who was listening with interest. I blinked as I saw the demon lord lift two fingers. A green whip shot forwards at the boy. I smirked as I noticed the demon lord had only one arm. Sesshomaru knocked the boy fifty feet to the side into a tree and shot at the woman who jumped back. Her fan swept up and blades shot at the demon lord. I saw the boy stand up and run at the demon lord. I made a decision in an instant. I disappeared and reappeared in front of the boy. My three partners seemed surprised but stood watching. Kagura and Sesshomaru glanced at me.

The boy jumped back and threw his blade at me. I dodged it effortlessly and ran at the boy with ninja speed. He didn't even blink as my kunai sliced his arm and I pulled the weapon from his hand. I held the weapon in one hand and looked into the boys eyes. My Mangekyou flickered on and I sucked him in. My red and black world took everything over. I looked around for the boy and found him chained to the floor. I blinked. They weren't my chains they were black but different. He looked up at me. His eyes looked defeated. He blinked at me.

"You aren't Naraku."

"No."

He looked at me. His eyes held desperation now.

"Kill me please!"

I was a bit surprised by his request. He held his head in his hands and I saw a look of wild horror on his face.

"I killed them! I killed my family! I tried to kill my sister! He made me do it! I have no more control."

He started to sob. The world morphed into a courtyard with the boy and five others that looked like him. They were killing a giant spider when he attacked them.

"Naraku destroyed my village! He controls me and makes me hunt my friends and my sister. I want to die but I can't break from his control."

"I will kill you."

"Will you?"

I nodded.

"Thank you." He sobbed.

"Will cutting your throat kill you?" I asked.

"No. You must pull the black shard from my back."

I nodded. My red and black world started to melt. I blinked and I was in front of the boy. Not even a second had passed. I gripped his weapon and shot to his back. I sliced up cutting his back. A small black crystal like shard shot out with the blood. I grabbed it and I saw the boy fall. He gasped his last breath and looked at me. He smiled. Rin was running at us.

"Thank you." He said.

Rin dropped to her knees beside him.

"Kohaku…"

He smiled at her once more before the light in his eyes dimmed. I noticed the Kagura woman and Sesshomaru had stopped fighting. Kagura growled and shot into the sky with a feather. Sesshomaru looked at her then walked to me. He looked down at the body of Kohaku.

"I didn't expect you to kill him."

"Will you save him Sesshomaru?" Rin pleaded.

The lord looked at her.

"Very well." He said.

I stepped back but watched in interest as Rin also jumped back. The lord pulled out a sword from his waist and held it straight. Then he sliced the air over the body twice as if he was cutting something down. Suddenly Kohaku's chest lifted with breath. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up. He blinked and looked around. His eyes rested on me. Then they slid to Sesshomaru.

"Tenseiga." He breathed as he looked at the sword.

"Sesshomaru saved you." Rin smiled.

"Rin." He said.

Rin grinned and hugged him.

"Thank you." He said to both Sesshomaru and me.

We both nodded.

"What are you?" Sesshomaru asked suddenly.

"A ninja." I said.

He nodded. Kisame walked up to me.

"So Itachi how does it feel to have your work reversed. Imagine if they had a sword like that in Konoha. Your whole clan would still be alive and out to kill you."

"He killed his whole clan?" Sesshomaru asked.

Kisame nodded

"Uchiha Itachi, the most feared criminal in our world. The man who killed his whole clan and every one with a drop of Uchiha blood in them, in one night." Kisame said.

Rin, Jaken, Kohaku, and Sesshomaru watched me.

"You are all criminals." Sesshomaru said.

"Some of the most wanted criminals." Kisame sighed.

"Why?" Rin asked.

"Well I killed some allies and turned on my village." Kisame said.

"I killed the leader of my village and some others and made them into puppets like Kohaku was to Naraku." Sasori said.

Kohaku swallowed.

"And I blew up a couple of buildings and people, un." Deidara said proudly.

"Blew up?" Jaken asked.

"Yeah, I used bombs, un."

"What are bombs?" Jaken asked.

"These, un." Deidara said.

He reached into his pouch and pulled out some clay. His hands started to mould it. In less then a second he threw a small clay bird into the open. Everyone watched till it exploded.

"Like Chinese gunpowder?" Jaken asked.

"Kind of, un." Deidara said.

"Will you stay with us Kohaku?" Rin asked suddenly.

"If Lord Sesshomaru needs me or wants me I will swear my loyalty to him."

We looked at the demon lord.

"You may work in my army, in my castle, or you may patrol with us, slayer."

Kohaku bowed.

"Slayer?" Kisame asked.

"I am part of a group of demon slayers." Kohaku said.

"And you would team up with a demon?" Sasori asked.

"Not all demons are evil. We kill the evil ones and the ones that plague villagers." Kohaku said.

We nodded. Then Kohaku looked at me.

"Do you still have the shard?"

I opened my fist to show the black jewel. He winced. I felt the evil radiating from the jewel. I felt its promise of power but ignored it.

"It is tainted. We need to take it to the miko who stayed with my sister." He said.

"They are looking for Kagome." Sesshomaru said.

"The shard belongs to Kagome?" I asked.

The demon lord nodded.

"Do you know where Kagome is at?" I asked the demon lord.

He pointed in a direction. I nodded.

"Goodbye Itachi." Rin said.

"Nh."

The other three stepped up beside me. The demon lord nodded to me before we leapt off at full speed. We ran for about two hours when we stopped. I sensed someone close but I couldn't see them. We all looked around. We were in a nice but small clearing. I looked up to see a woman laying on a large branch and looking down at us like a lazy cat.

The woman had long black tresses and she had water blue eyes. She looked to be about eighteen or nineteen. She had luscious red lips and a delicate face. She had curves in all the right places and looked quite beautiful. She wore a blue and silver fighting kimono. At her waist, were a sword and a small dagger and on her back was a small pack with a bow and quiver of arrows. She just blinked lazily at us.

"Yeeeeees?" She purred.

"We are looking for a miko named Kagome." I said.

She gave me a Cheshire grin.

"And what do you need me for?"

I guessed this was her but I could swear the old miko had said she had brown eyes. I tossed the black shard to her. Surprisingly, as soon as she grabbed it, it turned from black to glowy pink.

"That is from the boy Kohaku." I said.

"You killed him?"

"Yes."

"Nh."

"And we need you to send us home." Kisame said.

"Where is your home?"

"In another dimension. A spirit with long black hair and blue eyes sent us here. She said you could send us back." I said.

"Did you come out of the well?"

I nodded.

"I can send you back….."

We waited as she seemed to sigh.

"But not now."

We frowned slightly.

"I sealed the well so that no one can go through to my time or any dimensions. I had it open and myself and another could travel could go through. But the other person betrayed me and I could risk letting him get through the well to get others."

"When will you open it again?" I asked.

"When the person is dead, and when I have the full Shikon No Tama."

'The Shikon No Tama?" Kisame asked.

"You don't know what the jewel is part of?" Kagome asked.

We shook our heads.

"All I know is it was tainted and could give one power." I said.

The others blinked at me and Kagome nodded.

"It is a shard of the Shikon No Tama. Shikon No Tama is a jewel that was created by a priestess named Midoriko. It will grant anyone one wish. If the wish is selfish or the jewel is used for selfish purposes then it becomes tainted and will continue to go around the world. If the wish is unselfish the jewel vanishes. I am the Shikon No Miko. It is my duty to keep the jewel pure. It is fortunate you did not use this shard. If you had used it while it had been tainted then you would have been under Naraku's control."

"Who is Naraku?" I asked.

"He is a strong Hanyou who has most of the jewel in his possession. He loves to toy with people and twist their feelings. It's a game to him."

She sighed.

"Do you want to travel with me till I can send you back?"

We all looked at one another. We didn't have much choice.

"Yes." I said.

Kagome's POV:

The one with black hair and red eyes did most of the talking. He was intelligent, cold, and powerful. I could tell just by looking at him. The blonde seemed hyper and talkative and he did have power. The shark looked strong and seemed to be the eldest. He had a huge sword on his back and I guessed he could use it well. The red head seemed bored almost and he wasn't completely human. He seemed intelligent and strong too. I could tell they had told me the truth. I had gotten very good at telling the truth from the lies. I looked down at them again. I slipped from my branch and landed in front of them. I stood in front of the dark haired one who seemed to be in command.

"Names?" I asked.

"Itachi." He said.

"I'm Kisame, Itachi's partner." The shark said.

"I'm Sasori." The red head said.

"My name's Deidara, un. I'm Sasori's partner, un."

I nodded.

"Well let's get going." I said.

"Where are we going, un?" Deidara asked.

"We have to find Naraku and I think I know where he is." I said.

They nodded slowly and followed me at a walk.

"So any reason we're walking?" Kisame asked.

"I feel like it. Besides if we run our fastest we would there at night and I would rather meet him in the day so we'll walk camp for the night then go find him."

Itachi nodded at the logic. We walked in silence for a while. The others started to talk among themselves but Itachi and I stayed silent. When night started to fall we found a clearing. Deidara went to get fire wood and the others sat. When Deidara brought back wood Itachi did some signs with his hands. Suddenly he breathed out some fire.

"What was that?" I asked as I set my bags down.

"That was a jutsu." Kisame said.

"Can you tell me more?"

"We have an energy called chakara which runs through our body. It is something you are born with. I guess many here would have it but never harnessed it." Sasori said. "Well we use the chakara to do many things. We can use it to fight, use jutsus, make illusions, make you stronger, make you faster, and many other things. Itachi can make genjutsus or illusions the best, Kisame is best at water jutsus, Deidara makes bombs, and I control puppets."

I nodded.

"I want to learn more but first we need dinner."

Everyone nodded. I grabbed my bow.

"Stay here."

Then I slipped into the shadows. I travelled quickly but silently as I hunted for prey. I returned to the camp ten minutes later with three rabbits already skinned and gutted. I threw them on a spit over the fire. Then I pulled a small kettle I had from my bag and walked to a small stream. When I reached it I washed blood off my knife and filled the kettle. I returned to the camp and set the kettle of water on the fire. As we waited for the food to cook the three told me about ninjas and their dimension. Itachi didn't speak at all. By the time the food was done I knew quite a bit about the ninja world. I made some tea out of the boiling water and we ate and drank silently. When that was done I washed my kettle and the dishes we had used.

"Go to sleep you will need to be rested for tomorrow." I said to the four ninja.

"What about watches?" The shark asked.

"I will put a barrier around the camp."

They nodded slowly and either lay in front of the fire and leaned against a tree. I also lay against a tree. I didn't want to sleep though. My dreams were always plagued by that one horrible memory. Sometimes I only saw parts of it. The one part that was the worst I rarely saw but when I did my old emotions emerged. I made my self drift off though.

--KAGOME'S DREAM—

I sat in front of the fire. Miroku sat across from me. Shippo sat on my lap and Sango sat with Kirara off to the side. Inuyasha was no where to be seen. Neither was Kikyo. She had joined us three months ago. I was seventeen at the moment. I had been travelling with the group for two years now. I wasn't a weak girl with uncontrolled miko powers now. I had practiced almost non-stop with my miko powers and got tips from every miko I met. I could now control my miko powers almost perfectly. I was a master bowman too. Miroku had also started to teach me how to use a staff. No one else had offered to teach me anything else.

I sighed. I saw Kikyo's soul stealers fly off in the direction of another clearing. I knew where Inuyasha and Kikyo were. They had left to go be alone. I had lost my love for Inuyasha. After chasing after him for so long I had just given up. He would never return my feelings. I sighed as I looked into the fire. Suddenly I saw Inuyasha walk into the clearing. I looked at him. He walked till he was five feet from me. He held no compassion in his eyes as he looked at me. Suddenly Sango stood too. Kirara sat on her shoulder. Kikyo walked into the clearing now too. The three looked at one another. Shippo hoped off my lap as I stood. Miroku seemed as confused as me as the three looked at one another. Then Inuyasha turned back to me.

"Kagome, you have to die."

I gaped at him. Miroku opened his mouth to say something. Kirara hoped off Sango's shoulder and transformed. She roared at Miroku who scowled. Inuyasha flexed a claw and I saw him move, too late. I screamed as his claws ripped through my chest. I stumbled back into Sango's arms. I felt safe for a moment. Then I saw Sango's eyes were also hard. She grabbed my arms, holding me in place as Inuyasha walked towards me. I struggled. Shippo jumped in front of me and screamed at Inuyasha to stop. Miroku was trying to get past Kirara but she was holding him back.

"What are you doing Sango?! Save her!" he yelled at Sango.

"Kikyo needs her soul back so she can live again." Inuyasha said. "When the soul is split in two their power is also split. She is stronger then you will ever be so she is the one who must have life. Your life will be sacrificed for the greater good."

I was panting and I saw black spots as I felt blood course over me. My miko powers were blocked too. I was guessing that was Kikyo's doing. Miroku was desperately trying to tell Sango to save me.

"Kikyo promised she could purify the jewel in Kohaku and save him so he would live even after the jewel was taken out. Sorry Kagome but I want my brother's life more then yours." Sango said coldly.

Inuyasha stopped in front of me. He grabbed Shippo who lunged at him. He tossed Shippo to Kikyo who held him by the tail. Shippo was crying as he yelled Inuyasha to stop. Inuyasha didn't stop once as he raised his claws hand. He thrust it through my stomach in one fluid motion. I gasped and sound was blocked for a second. I felt my eye lids start to lower. I was vaguely aware that Sango had let me go and that the ground was a approaching fast. I looked at Miroku who screamed out and tried to get past Kirara. Shippo was screaming too. But I couldn't hear either of them. As I hit the ground my hearing returned. My eyes stayed half open but to anyone else they would look closed. I felt a small piece of my soul leave me suddenly. It flew to Kikyo and in a bright pink flash she suddenly laughed.

"I have my soul back. I'm alive."

Inuyasha smiled and walked to her hugging her close. Kirara stepped back to Sango and Miroku scrambled to me. I saw tears in his eyes.

"Don't die Lady Kagome." He whispered.

"Idiot monk, she's already dead of Kikyo's soul wouldn't have returned." Inuyasha grinned.

Miroku started to shake a bit.

"How could you!? She followed you any where and she saved Sango from the pit of despair after her brother was killed! She let Kikyo join us and she never complained once!" He screamed.

He didn't seem to see I was alive. I wondered if I really was.

"Don't worry Miroku. She's dead now. You don't have to like her anymore. Focus on me." Sango cooed wrapping her arms around him.

Miroku went to push her away when she hit the pressure point on his neck. He crumpled to the ground. Sango sighed and threw his limp body on Kirara.

"Why not kill him too?" Inuyasha asked.

"He will be a great help in killing Naraku and I love him." Sango said.

"He might not love you after this." Kikyo said.

"He will. He'll understand how much of a burden Kagome was after awhile."

"What about the fox here?" Kikyo asked lifting him up.

Shippo was sobbing uncontrollably.

"He's to useless to bring and if we leave him here we will die, so I guess we'll kill him. It's the merciful thing to do." Inuyasha said in a bored tone.

I wanted to scream at him, to sit him, to stop him. He lifted his blood covered claws again and Shippo looked up as Inuyasha thrust his claws through his small chest. Shippo didn't even have time to gasp as his eyes dimmed and his life fled him. Inuyasha tossed him to the side were he rested in a pool of his blood. I wanted to scream, cry, and hold Shippo but my body still wouldn't respond to me and my eyes started to lower again. The last thing I saw was the living walking away leaving Shippo and I where we lay. Then I saw black.

I felt as if I was in a void. Everything was black and it felt like I was hovering. I was crying as I remembered everything. I expected that I was dead. Suddenly a woman stepped up beside me. I looked up at Midoriko through my tears. She gave me a sad look.

"I'm so sorry Kagome."

"Am I dead?" I asked ignoring her first statement.

"No."

"But how am I alive?" I asked.

"Your miko powers are healing your wounds right now you should be fine."

"What about my soul going to Kikyo."

"That was never your soul. You were never Kikyo's reincarnation."

I blinked and continued to listen.

"Each of the Shikon No Miko's are there own souls. They are not reincarnations of the others. But for some reason when a new Shikon No Miko is born the souls of the old ones are drawn to them. The new Shikon No Miko usually has a piece of the souls from the Shikon No Mikos before her. When you were born a piece of Kikyo's soul and a piece of my soul were also in you. That is why your soul was to big for Kanna's mirror. But as I was saying. You got a piece of both our souls. When this happens you also get part of our looks, or personality, or strength. You get a little piece of us in you. You got my strength and some of my personality I think and you got Kikyo's looks and her scent. Just now Kikyo's piece of soul was taken from you. You will no longer look exactly like her, your appearance may change so be prepared. And your scent should be different so Inuyasha won't recognize you if he smells you."

I slowly sucked this in.

"So I will be different?"

"Yes, a little. Remember Kagome you are only yourself you aren't lower then Kikyo or just a copy."

I nodded and wiped some tears away.

"So where am I right now?"

"In your conscious."

I sniffed and nodded.

"When you wake you will be healed. I'm sorry this happened to you. Just move on. Don't try to forget just embrace the facts. You need to move on. I do not mean you must try to be happy but you can not stay in despair forever."

"Okay." I whispered.

She smiled and suddenly she vanished. The black started to fade. I blinked. I saw ground and sunlight. 'Sunlight…. Wasn't it night?' I asked myself.

"Maybe it was a dream." I croaked.

I tried to sit and all my muscles screamed in pain. I lifted myself up and looked down at myself. My blue t-shirt and my blue sweatpants were no longer blue. They were red. Blood soaked. I gasped and looked around. I saw the one thing I didn't want to. There was Shippo's body lying in a dried pool of blood. His eyes still half open as he starred at nothing and his mouth slightly open. I did the first thing that came to my mind. I screamed. I screamed as I saw my son dead before my eyes.

--END OF DREAM—

Itachi's POV:

We all sat straight up as we heard a scream. I had a kunai out ready. We realized it was Kagome who was screaming. She screamed again and tears streamed down her face. I jumped to her and shook her trying to wake her up. She sat straight up and sobbed. She saw me and shrunk away. She covered her face with her hands as she kept sobbing. I was at a bit of a loss. I didn't know what to do. Deidara saw this and crouched by Kagome.

"What's the mater, un?" He asked. "Nightmare, un?"

"I saw him do it again! He killed him!" She screamed as sobbed.

"Who killed who, un?" Deidara asked.

"My friend killed my son! He murdered him right in front of my eyes for no reason!"

She continued to sob as we starred her a minute.

"You have a son, un?" Deidara asked.

"He was murdered."

We let her sit by herself as she sobbed. After less then a minute she stopped to sob. She took deep breathes.

"I'm sorry. I haven't done that in a while." She whispered.

I believed that. Suddenly her eyes got rid of the broken look she had at the moment and they became hard and cold.

"I'm sorry." She said again.

This time there was no emotion in her voice. She curled up again. The others slowly did the same. I waited till Kagome was asleep again before I also drifted off.

Kagome's POV:

I felt myself drift off once again.

--KAGOME'S DREAM—

I felt hot salty tears pour down my face. I crawled over to Shippo and gently lifted his lifeless body. I hugged it close as I cried. After a while I heard the 'moo' of a cow and footsteps behind me. But I stayed crying.

"Kagome?" Totosi asked. "What are you doing alone? Where are the others? I came to bring you the sword you asked for."

I still cried. I heard him get closer.

"Kagome?" Myoga called.

I knew he was on Totosi's shoulder. I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. It pulled back as it felt me covered in dried blood.

"Kagome what happened?" Myoga asked.

"They betrayed me." I sobbed.

Totosi crouched in front of me. He gently moved my arms so he could see what I was holding. Myoga and he gaped at Shippo's lifeless corpse.

"We need to bury him." Totosi said softly.

I nodded as I cried. Somehow we dug a grave beneath a tree and set Shippo in. When we refilled the grave I got a rock and used it as a head stone. I kneeled in front of the grave and cried.

"What happened?" Myoga asked softly.

"Sango, Kikyo, Inuyasha, and Kirara decided that Kikyo's life was of more value then mine. Inuyasha tried to kill me so Kikyo could become alive again. I actually had more then one soul. Her soul left me but I still lived. Miroku tried to stop him but Sango still likes him so they knocked him out and left with him. They said Shippo was a burden and the merciful thing to do was kill him. So Inuyasha did. My miko powers healed me and I lived."

I broke down sobbing again. Totosi tried to calm me down but it was no use. Finally he coaxed me onto his cow. He said it wasn't safe to make so much noise and stay in the open unarmed. We took off towards his smith but I still didn't calm. When we reached it I had stopped sobbing but I wasn't feeling better. I starred straight ahead and didn't make a sound. Totosi showed me inside and I sat against the wall. I just sat there. Totosi showed me a blue sword he had made for me. He told me that he had finished it. I vaguely remembered asking for a sword. He set it beside me and walked off.

I don't know how long I sat there or how long I stayed like that for but all I did was sit their starring at nothing. Totosi offered me food but I refused it. I did drink some water a couple times but I was soon malnourished and dehydrated. I was tired from days of no sleep. I hadn't changed and my blood stained clothes started to hurt my skin. Myoga had also tried to talk to me. I ignored him too. Then one day I remember hearing someone walk in. I remember my sight of the wall being blocked by white. I didn't bother to look up at Sesshomaru. I knew he watched me a moment. Then he turned to Totosi.

"Why is Inuyasha's wench here?"

"There was an incident…." Myoga trailed off.

"She does not smell the same and she does not have brown eyes. Her eyes are blue now." Sesshomaru said.

"Kikyo's soul was taken from her." Totosi said.

"Where is the fox child? He is always with her and Rin wishes to see him." The cold lord said.

I starred straight ahead. Sesshomaru looked at me.

"She is malnourished, dehydrated, and exhausted. Where are the others?"

"They aren't coming for her." Myoga sighed.

Totosi crouched beside me and rested a hand on my shoulder as Sesshomaru watched.

"Kagome won't you get up? At least eat something."

I didn't reply. Totosi stood and faced Sesshomaru.

"She has been like that for four days. We can't get her to react to anything."

Sesshomaru stepped closer to me He pulled his Tokijin out. He held it so close to my throat a bead of blood rolled down.

"Why do you not react Miko?"

He seemed curious. I didn't reply.

"Tell me what happened." Sesshomaru told Totosi.

He slid his sword back into his sheath and looked to the old smith.

"I took her, her sword four days ago. I arrived at their camp sight to find her surrounded by blood and alone. She was sobbing and holding something. She held her dead son in her hands." Totosi said.

"The fox ix dead? Who killed him?" Sesshomaru asked.

"It seems her friends decided they would rather have an alive Kikyo then Kagome. They tried to kill her and took her soul. It seemed they thought they had killed her and left. She lived. They also killed the fox before they left. Kagome said the monk was still on her side and that they took him."

Sesshomaru crouched beside me. Totosi and Myoga seemed stunned he had actually lowered himself and looked me in the eye.

"You must move on miko."

"I know."

They all seemed surprised that I had spoken.

"I know I must move on but I have not yet accepted the fact that my friends betrayed me and killed my son."

"Nh. Do you hate them?"

"Yes. I wish to rip them apart. To watch their faces twist in horror." I said with venom.

They all looked shocked at my tone, even Sesshomaru. Then he stood.

"Come with me. I will train you to help you fulfill that wish."

Totosi was gaping and his jaw touched the ground. Myoga had fainted. Sesshomaru held out a hand. I knew he wasn't doing this to help me or because he pitied me, he was doing this because it would thwart his brother and it would help him. I took his hand and he pulled my up. I grabbed my sword and Sesshomaru took a sword from Totosi and I guessed that was his reason for coming. Then he led me out and towards a new beginning.

--END OF DREAM—

I sat up slowly. I sighed and looked at the horizon. The sun was just rising. I remembered my dream very well. I remembered going to Sesshomaru's castle too. It had changed my life. He had trained me himself for almost a year. He had taught me how to battle with a sword, whip, and hand to hand. He had also made sure I got my education. I had studied while there. He had a scholar teach me and I was well above a high school education even though I wouldn't regularly graduate for almost two more years. Sesshomaru hadn't warmed up to me and I hadn't warmed up to him. We had an agreement. If I killed Inuyasha he would get Tetsiaga for payment. He even said I had a better claim at Inuyasha's life and that he would try not to kill him first. He had also given me permission to travel in the west at any time.

I smirked slightly. My time with Sesshomaru had changed me a lot other then just how good of a fighter I became. My miko powers had some how enhanced all my skills. I could see a little better and hear better. I could also run faster then a normal human and had great stamina. I had also locked most of my emotions away. The only emotions I let out were sadistic joy and boredom. I would usually look blank or bored like Sasori did or I would feel joyful when it wasn't funny like if someone had died or something. I chose to feel like this. I did let other emotions out once in a while like the night before I had let out sorrow. If I let sorrow out all the time, though, I would always be in a pit of despair and always broken. There were two emotions I never let out though. They were love and friendship. I may let friendship out later but I doubted love would ever be let out again. Love hurt too much.

I stood silently and walked to make the fire again. When that was done I walked off to the stream. I returned to the camp fifteen minutes later with some fish. I stuck them over the fire and waited as they cooked. Itachi had woken as soon as I started the fire but he just sat there watching me. The others were still asleep. As soon as the fish was done, though, I woke them. I handed them the food and they ate in silence. When I finished my small amount I waited. Itachi had also finished his.

"Who killed your…adopted son, and why?" Itachi asked

I looked up at him. Everyone listened closely.

"I used to travel with a hanyou named Inuyasha, a demon slayer named Sango, a monk named Miroku, a neko named Kirara, and a Kitsune named Shippo. Inuyasha loved the old Shikon No Miko but they were tricked and killed each other, almost. Sango's village and brother were killed, and Miroku was cursed. All this done by Naraku. The witch Urasue brought Kikyo back to life but half her soul was in me at the time. Kikyo was just the walking dead but Inuyasha still loved her like when they were alive. I had a crush on Inuyasha. I was foolish to chase him and realized this after a while. I gave up on him. Kikyo joined our group and three months later they all turned one me, well almost all of them. The slayer who had been like a sister to me, Kirara who was a friend, Kikyo who was neutral with me, and Inuyasha my best friend all tried to kill me. If I died then Kikyo would live again because her soul would return. So they tried to kill me. Shippo and Miroku tried to stop them but Miroku was out numbered and Shippo was just a small boy. They tore Kikyo's soul from me and thought I was dead. They killed my son Shippo who I was helpless to help and only able to watch as the life left him. The slayer liked the monk so he was spared and taken with them. I haven't seen him in forever. Well I was distraught. I didn't do anything for a couple days. A sword smith I knew looked after me. Then Inuyasha's brother saved me. He trained me and taught me. I owe Sesshomaru a lot."

"Wait… Sesshomaru?" Kisame asked.

"Yes." I said.

"He was the one who directed us to you." Sasori said.

I nodded. I guessed he would.

"So he is brothers with the one who killed your son and you still like him?" Itachi asked.

"I wouldn't call it like. We have an agreement and just because the brother does something doesn't mean the other brother is blamed. Besides Inuyasha and Sesshomaru are enemies. Inuyasha tried to kill Sesshomaru and Sesshomaru tries to kill him. I think Sesshomaru just toys with Inuyasha because he could easily kill him if he wanted to."

Itachi's POV:

It was kind of like my relation ship with my foolish little brother. He tried to kill me and I tried to kill him but I toyed with him because killing him would be too easy. I watched Kagome. She had been a mess for a moment the night before. Now she looked bored. When breakfast was done she stood up. She packed her things and we waited. We soon set off through the trees. We walked in silence for less the two hours. Even the others were silent. It was eerie around. No birds or animals made noise or even seemed to be around. Every footstep sounded like the blast of trumpets in the surrounding silence. When we reached a grassy field Kagome stopped. She waited two seconds. Suddenly the air in front of her rippled and a small door of purple like power opened. Kagome motioned us through. We hesitantly stepped through. When Kagome came through last the 'door' disappeared. We looked forwards and blinked at the large castle we hadn't seen before.

"The place is surrounded by a barrier to hide Naraku."

"We are going to talk to Naraku?" I asked. "I thought he was your enemy."

"He and I never had a personal grudge against the other. Besides I switched sides. My friends try to kill me so I will kill them."

We followed as we walked to the castle. Suddenly a pink barrier sprung up around each of us.

"That will keep the poisonous miasma from killing you. The whole place is intoxicated with it." She said.

We nodded. As we got closer to the castle we got suspicious. We saw no life. We wondered where the guards were. We found out as we walked in the gate. Bones of people lay scattered everywhere; like the people had died where they had been standing last. Kagome sniffed and stepped over the bodies. Half way across the courtyard we saw Kagura coming for us. She frowned at us.

"Miko you bring enemies."

"Nh." Kagome said.

Kagura scowled once then led us into the castle. As we walked down the halls we were surrounded by a very eerie silence. Bones also lay in her. We say the silhouettes of demons through the screens. We just walked quickly. Kagura led us to a door and opened it. She bowed and we all filed past her. It was a dark room. We saw an albino child sitting looking forwards blankly. She held a mirror. A man sat in the corner. He had deep black and purple robes on, black wavy hair as long as Kagome's and red piercing eyes. He seemed completely tainted. He smirked.

"Kagura come here."

We now noticed Kagura behind us. She stepped forwards glaring pure hate at Naraku. I wondered why she served him if she hated him.

"Yes master." She hissed between clenched teeth.

"Go check on Inuyasha's group."

"Why?"

Kagura glared at him. Suddenly he held out a hand. A red sphere appeared in it. The red thing seemed to beat. Kagura paled. He slowly squeezed it and Kagura cried out. She fell to the ground withering in agony. She screamed and sobbed looking in deep pain. Finally she stopped and sat up slowly.

"Do I have to squeeze your heart again?" The man asked.

Kagura stood up and scurried from the room. The albino child went to stand but the man glared at her.

"Stay Kanna."

The albino nodded. Then the man turned to us. I saw Kagome clenching her hands. The man smirked.

"Does it pain you to be around the jewel when it is so tainted miko?"

He held out a small almost completely black jewel. Kagome gave a winced and shied away from it.

"I wish to know why you seek me out." The man said.

"I wish to find you Naraku to strike up a deal with you."

Naraku perked up.

"What kind of deal?" He purred.

"I will kill Inuyasha, Kikyo, Sango, and Kirara for you."

Naraku smirked evilly and chuckled. It was a cruel sound.

"What do you want in return?" He asked.

"I want you to give me Kanna's mirror and Kagura's fan."

Naraku blinked.

"Interesting… Deal. I can always give them new weapons."

Kagome smirked evilly too.

"I will give you half up front."

He held out his hand and the small girl handed her mirror to him. Then he chucked it at Kagome. Kagome grinned as she held the mirror.

"Now I will go fulfill my end of the bargain." She said.

Naraku chuckled and we all turned and walked from the castle. We kept silent again. I was guessing Kagome just made a deal with someone completely insane, untrustworthy, deviant, tricky, and evil. Kagome seemed quite happy too. As soon as we set foot out of the castle gate Kagome tucked the mirror in her bag and took off running. We all quickly followed her pace.

Not even ten minutes later we stopped in a field. A moment later a man with white hair and dog ears in a red outfit, a woman who looked like Kagome, a woman in a skin tight outfit carrying a boomerang, and a large sabre tooth cat with two tails ran into the field. They spotted Kagome and their eyes widened. Above them was Kagura on her feather. I also noticed a man in a monks outfit was following the people. But the monk looked weary and defeated.

"Kagome." The slayer breathed.

"Sango." Kagome said.

"How are you still alive wench?!" Dog boy asked.

"It seems that I am not Kikyo's reincarnation. I am Midoriko's. I just had part of Kikyo's soul in me. And when you hurt me it flew out but my miko powers saved me."

"Guess we'll have to kill you again." Kikyo said.

"Kagome?" The monk asked softly looking up. "Lady Kagome you are alive!"

I heard joy in his voice. The slayer wiped around punching him hard in the gut. He coifed up blood and doubled over.

"Shut up my love." Sango said

"I Hate you-"

The woman kicked him hard and he fell back.

"Sango stop it." Kagome said. "I thought you loved him."

"I do but he won't love me so I will break him till he does." The woman asked.

Suddenly Kagura dropped down beside us. She handed Kagome her fan.

"Naraku sent me a message that I was to give you this."

Kagome nodded and grabbed the fan.

"You made a deal with Naraku!?" Inuyasha snarled.

Kagome's eyes hardened.

"Yes." She said with malice.

Miroku was slowly standing and I was a bit surprised he could stand after the attacks. He stepped back but Sango grabbed a silver chain and jerked it. I saw it was tied to his ankle. He lost balance and fell. Kagome squinted at the chain.

"Kikyo made it for me specially. It won't come off unless I die. And only a miko with stronger powers then Kikyo can take it off." Sango laughed.

"Are you Sango, a slayer?" I asked.

They all looked at me. The woman nodded.

"Did you have a brother named Kohaku?" I asked.

She nodded again.

"Then I wish to inform you I killed him."

There was dead silence.

"You lie." Sango whispered.

Kagome held up the shard. Inuyasha sniffed and growled.

"I smell his blood on the man."

Sango started to shake. Then she grabbed the boomerang.

"DIE!" She screamed releasing it at us.

It spun viciously towards us. We all easily dodged it. Then I noticed Kagome running at the group. She drew the blue sword. Inuyasha drew his sword and it transformed. The two locked blade. Then Kagome grabbed a dagger in her other hand and before Inuyasha could blink it was where his heart was. He stumbled back.

"Bitch." He cursed.

We were all shocked he was still alive. He pulled the dagger from his chest and hurled it at Kagome. She caught it and whipped it back. Inuyasha laughed.

"You missed." He taunted.

"I wasn't aiming at you."

He spun wide eyed and looked at Kikyo who stood with the dagger in her throat. She was completely still. Then she started to fall back. White orbs shot from her body before it disintegrated. Inuyasha howled and Sango growled. I lunged forwards my kunai out. Sango jumped back just dodging my knife. But she foolishly looked into my eyes. My Mangekyou activated and sucked her in. I tortured her for the seventy two hours in a second. When I had finished I stepped away from the screaming woman. Kagome lunged in slashing her throat. Her body fell to the ground. The chain connected to the monk undid and shrunk to the size of a bracelet. Kagome picked it up and stuffed it in her pocket. The cat roared and lunged at Kagome.

"Kirara is under Kikyo's spell." The monk said.

Kagome nodded and a blast of pink energy hit the cat. The cat flew back and in a burst of flame turned into a two tailed kitten. She blinked then leapt at Miroku and started to lick his face. Kisame and Deidara appeared next to the monk and started to help him up. Kagome instead lunged at the Hanyou who was kneeling and starring at where Kikyo's body had been. Kagome stood over him and looked down at him. He looked up at her and his eyes were empty with grief.

"You killed her." He whispered.

"And you killed my son." Kagome spat viciously.

He opened his mouth then snapped it shut. Kagome spun in a blur and the hanyou's head hit the ground followed by his body. Kagome grabbed dog boy's sword. Then we all saw a barrier around it shatter. More pink power was released form her and took the shape of a large bird. The bird gripped the sword and flew off. Kagome looked at us.

"I learned how to make an animal from my powers. It should deliver the sword to Sesshomaru."

We all nodded. Deidara let the monk lean against him as the walked over to us. Kirara launched at Kagome and started to mew apologetically while licking her.

"I forgive you." Kagome said to the cat.

The cat perked up and purred. Then Kagome turned to Miroku who gave her a weak smile.

"I'm glad you're alive." He whispered.

"I'm glad you're still alive too." Kagome said.

She reached her hand out and pink miko energy surrounded him. I saw all his wounds heal. Kagome scowled.

"You had six broken rips, a broken finger, a sprained wrist, a sprained ankle, and you were covered in bruises and cuts."

We all winced in sympathy.

"Sango was mad when I said I didn't love her." He mumbled.

Kagome nodded.

"Did you really make a deal with Naraku?" He asked.

"It was in my favour. I got Kanna's and Kagura's weapons for killing those guys. I was going to kill them anyways. Now let's go kill Naraku."

"Yes." The monk agreed.


	25. New Recruit : Naruto

Sakura's POV:

I sipped some of my tea as I stood over my counter. I looked out my window over the street. I snorted in amusement as I saw kids playing. They seemed so carefree. I smirked. In a couple years they wouldn't be playing like that again. I looked across the room at a mirror. My reflection starred back at me. My green eyes were cold. My short cropped pink hair fell to my shoulders. My whole face was hard with no compassion. My face would make even my friends have second thoughts of talking to me. I looked at myself a minute. Then I turned away.

I was eighteen. It had been six years since they had left. Sasuke had left and joined Orochimaru, and Naruto had left with Jiraya to train. Naruto had promised to bring Sasuke back. I didn't care anymore. If Sasuke wanted to stay with Orochimaru let him. I was no longer the sweet naïve little girl I used to be. I was a hard, strong, and cruel woman. Tsunade had trained me. I think she regretted that sometimes. I was now a better medic then her and I was also stronger then her with my inhuman strength. I smirked.

After the other two had left team seven had broken up. Kakashi had become an ANBU captain and I had become the Godaime's apprentice and later became an ANBU. I could have taken position as ANBU captain but refused. I had also gone on missions with the other teams. It had helped me greatly. I had trained with Gai and Lee a lot too. They had taught me everything about Taijutsu and helped me increase my speed and stamina. I now wore weights like them on my legs at all times but was still one of the fastest in Kohona with them on. Kurenai had helped me improve in genjutsus too since I was so good at them. I out ranked her now. Then I had trained with other members of the teams. Like Hinata and Neji. They had taught me some chakara points that I could poke to mess up chakara. I was good at it since I was so fast, had good chakara control, and since I was a medic. I had trained with Tenten learning how to use certain weapons, and I had trained lastly with Kakashi. He had taught me the Chidori and just trained with me a lot.

I chuckled softly. I was one of the top ninja's in Kohona. Many thought I would take Tsunade's place as Hokage later. I doubted that. I didn't want to become the Hokage of a village I didn't love. When I had been little I had been loyal to Kohona. It had been my home. But now, since my parents had died three years ago and I had started to live alone with out even many friends I had done a lot of thinking. I didn't love the place. Not many people trusted me either. I was a loner, one who could easily betray them at any moment. I was someone no one really trusted or had faith in. I was one of their strongest but one of the least loyal. That was one of the reasons I had refused the position as ANBU captain. It would have meant I had to be loyal to my village, take any mission, and show to my team and others how loyal I was.

I didn't care about any of that. No friends of mine thought I would turn out like this, but I had. I thought a moment. I didn't have any friends anymore actually. Well I'd say my only friend left was Shikamaru. Shikamaru and I had become great friends. I always thought it was odd. The two of us trained together the most and we met a lot to play Go and other games like it. I liked the lazy ninja. He was very nice and never seemed to expect anything of me. He was the only person I relaxed near and showed real emotions too.

I had learned to keep most of my emotions locked away years ago. I was known as a cruel, cold, merciless, and emotionless killer in the field. At home and around 'friends' I usually showed the same emotions; coldness, cruelty, and anger. Only Shikamaru got to see my real emotions. I sipped more of my tea as I looked outside. I saw three kids playing together. Two boys seemed to be fighting but looked to be partial friends and the girl looked frustrated as she tried to stop them. She seemed to like one of the boys.

I chuckled. It was like how Sasuke, Naruto, and I used to act. I guessed that if Sasuke ever came back he and Naruto would act the same as always. I wouldn't though. For one I didn't love Sasuke. I didn't even think of him as a brother. He was just some one who had left. I had been foolish to chase him. Naruto? Well I guess I would still hold some respect for but we wouldn't be close. I finished the last of my tea and set my cup in the sink. I walked to the living room and pulled out my game board. I set the pieces up and made some more tea for Shikamaru and me.

I got everything ready then waited. Shikamaru would be here soon. I didn't have to worry about anyone else bothering our game of even interrupting me while I set up. No one would bother to come over to even say hi anymore. I had usually pushed them away. I didn't see what the point in having friends was. I still liked Shikamaru but he was different. He never was loud or rude, or asked questions I didn't want him to. He rarely pried and never scolded me or made fun of me. He was polite but still my friend and he always talked with me and let me do as I wish.

I sat on my couch. Shikamaru was the only person I trusted. Ino had tried to stay my friend but I didn't like her. She was the opposite of Shikamaru and the opposite of what I wanted my friends to be. I wasn't ever really close to the others. I doubted they even remembered me unless we talked. Tsunade talked to me and bothered me sometimes though. She always seemed to want to keep an eye on me. I couldn't blame her. If I did something I wasn't supposed to them they wouldn't know. She was the only one who could probably talk to me with me pushing her away. She was my Hokage and if I pushed her away or was rude I could be surrounded by ANBU in a second so I had to stay at least partially loyal in her eyes.

It wasn't hard to be distant and cold because that was what I was really like. It annoyed me though that all my old friends had let me try and push them away once and then shrugged and left me. I knew that any true friend wouldn't have given up on me, like Shikamaru or Naruto. But in the end Naruto had left me too. They had left me in the dark. That was when my hate for them had seeded. Only one light remained; my friend Shikamaru.

Suddenly a knock rang out. Shikamaru may be lazy but he was always on time. I opened the door and Shikamaru stepped in. He gave me a small smile and sat in front of the board. I sat across from him and we started our game. We were silent a moment as we made the first moves and drank some more tea. After a minute we started to chat about normal things like gossip he had heard. I stayed alone a lot so I didn't hear any. He told me how everyone else was progressing and what missions he had had and would get. I told him some small things I had heard and how my training was going, and such. After a while when we were reaching the end of the game he started a different conversation.

"So Sakura-chan, have you been talking to others, making new friends?" He asked.

"No Shikamaru-kun."

"You should."

He wasn't scolding me. He was just saying what he thought.

"I don't feel like it. You are enough for me." I winked.

He snorted and made his move.

"You are getting more distant. Kakashi and Tsunade are worried."

"I know."

I made my move and he made his easily.

"They think you may betray him and have been arguing about how to deal with you. The council has even had some meetings on you."

I scowled slightly.

"I'm not supposed to say but Tsunade said that Naruto found Sasuke."

I made my move and looked up at him.

"Seems Sasuke agreed to come back even with out a fight; something about Orochimaru talking about a new body soon."

I nodded and he made his move.

"Jiraya sent her a letter saying they would be back in a week."

"Nh." I said as I made my move.

He glanced at me.

"Do you miss them, Sakura-chan?" He asked.

"Not really." I answered easily.

"Why not?"

"They left me. Even if Naruto left to get Sasuke and bring him back they left me. Naruto hasn't written to me once in six years. I would think he was dead if Tsunade didn't say he was well. And Sasuke abandoned us. I do not miss them… I win."

He blinked at the board and smiled.

"Well I have won sixteen times in the past month and you have only won eleven times." He said.

I grinned.

"I am catching up though. Wait till I surpass you. Then I'll be rubbing it in our face."

He nodded.

"Let's go get some lunch."

I smiled.

"Okay."

I gently picked the stuff up and put it away neatly. Then I grabbed my bag and followed Shikamaru outside. I wore a black skirt with a black tank top at the moment. It had been the only clean thing in the house that day, the rest had been in the wash. I felt a bit different with a skirt on. I hadn't worn one in ages. I walked beside Shikamaru. He glanced down at me and grinned.

"You look nice."

"Thanks handsome." I said.

We grinned at one another and continued to walk. When I passed down my streets the woman whispered as they saw me. The men eyed me and whistled to themselves. Most people rarely saw me and if they did I had a blank face and pants on. I just talked with Shikamaru softly as we walked. He seemed to enjoy my company as much as I enjoyed his.

Shikamaru's POV:

Sakura and I walked along. I noticed that many guys starred at her. She was very beautiful. She had long pretty legs and curves in all the right places. Her green eyes looked full of life as she walked with me. Her pink hair bounced as we walked and her lips would tempt any man. I felt honoured to just have her walking with me. She rarely agreed to go in public with me and she usually didn't show emotion in public. I had seen her fight before and her cold mask could be very frightening, but at the moment she looked like an ordinary girl. She wasn't like that around anyone, only me. I smiled at her as we talked. I heard many people whisper as we walked. It was rare enough to see Sakura but to see me with her and smiling was even rarer. We soon found a restaurant and we slipped in. We talked as we ordered. When are food arrived we ate in silence. When it was done I looked at Sakura.

"Want to come cloud-gazing with me?"

She grinned.

"You know I think I will."

'She's in a good mood if she said yes.' I thought.

"You know you haven't come out in public or stayed out this long in months." I said.

"I guess I'm getting a bit bored of staying home."

I nodded and as the bill arrived we argued about who was paying. We did this every time we ate out. I finally gave in and she paid. Then we walked out. She walked close to me and we continued to talk. When we reached the grass hill I liked we sat down on the side that faced away from the village. We laid back and I put my hands behind my head. Sakura just laid her hands on her stomach her fingers intertwined. We just laid there in silence as we watched the white clouds roll across the clear blue sky.

I sighed happily. Sakura was the only one I could actually cloud gaze with. She didn't complain and actually sat still and enjoyed herself. She sighed happily with me and grinned at me. I grinned back and let my eyes close as the small breeze blew over us. I don't know how long we laid there but then I heard someone clear there throat. I opened my eyes to see Neji standing above me. He looked down at me a small smirk on his face. Sakura was watching him her emotionless mask back on.

"Ino and Choji are wondering what you're doing. They saw you and Sakura here but didn't want to interrupt anything. You know you sat here for over four hour's right?" He asked.

I sighed. I guessed I had dozed off slightly earlier.

"So?" Sakura asked.

"Are you two dating?" He asked.

"No." Sakura and I chorused easily.

He glanced at us then looked at Sakura.

"I haven't seen you in almost two months." He said.

"I usually train at night or early in the morning away from everyone and I had no reason to come out."

"How did Shikamaru get you out?"

"He suggested lunch and I agreed."

"So you went to lunch together." He said. "Sounds like a date to me."

"Well its not." I said.

"Nh." Neji said after a minute.

Then he walked off. I sat up sighing.

"Well as soon as he tells Ino and Choji we aren't doing anything they'll come bother us and I know you won't like that."

She nodded.

"I better be going home." Sakura yawned.

I smiled slightly and nodded. We both stood and stretched. I put my hands behind my head and we walked off. We were a bit silent as we walked. When we reached Sakura's house we walked in. She shut the door and tore her sandals off. I followed her example. She walked to the kitchen motioning me to follow.

"Want an early dinner?" She asked.

"Sure." I said.

I sat at the table and she started to cook. When she had finished we sat and ate. We talked quietly. When we had finished Sakura cleaned up and escorted me to the door. I pulled my sandals on and looked at her.

"You said you didn't care that Sasuke and Naruto were coming back so I'm guessing you don't love either of them."

"No. I don't love anyone."

"I think Neji likes you a bit." I said.

She blinked. Then snorted and smirked softly like she doubted it.

"Lee has finally given up on you too. He's going out with a girl named Mikota."

She chuckled softly.

"So you have a mission tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yes. I will be back before Naruto and Sasuke arrive. It's just a short delivery mission."

"I expect you to come over. And you had better be ready for me to crush you in our Shougi game."

I grinned. Then I grabbed her wrist as she went to open the door for me. She looked up at me. I pulled her into me and she came. When she was close enough I leaned over and planted my lips firmly on hers. She gasped slightly. I slipped my tongue in her mouth and she let me. Our tongues battled for dominance as my lips worked against her. My hands let her wrists go. My one hand held the back of her neck deepening the kiss and my second hand grabbed her nice ass and pulled her closer to me. I noticed that she hesitated before she wrapped her arms around my neck but ignored the fact. I pushed Sakura against the wall and pushed my body closer to hers. She moaned against my kiss and at the close contact. Suddenly a knock rang out. I slowly pulled back from Sakura. She stood straight and straightened her clothes and hair before she opened the door. An ANBU stood there.

"The Hokage wants you to come see her immediately."

"Hai." Sakura replied.

The ANBU nodded and was gone. Sakura turned to me.

"I'll see you when you get back from you mission Shikamaru-kun."

I nodded and walked out the door with her. She looked at me then she took off running for the Hokage's tower. I mentally slapped myself. I noticed how much she had hesitated kissing me and almost seemed a bit skittish when she left. I was getting to pushy or I was going to fast. I groaned softly and walked off down the street.

Sakura's POV:

I ran quickly to the tower as I licked my lips and sorted my thoughts. I guess I had been a little surprised at the kiss but not too surprised. I wondered how I really thought about Shikamaru. I shook my head. I would have to figure that out later when I had time to unlock my feelings and see. I entered the tower and headed for Tsunade's office. I knocked at the door before entering. I calmly looked over Kakashi, Tsunade, and Shizune who were looking solemn and serious.

"Sakura." Tsunade greeted.

"Tsunade, Shizune, and Kakashi." I nodded.

I made sure no emotion showed. Tsunade regarded me a moment. Then she sighed.

"I have a mission for you."

I nodded.

"I will offer it to you first. If you refuse I will offer it to Shikamaru and his team."

"He has a mission." I said.

"It would be cancelled. This is more important. This is an SS-class mission. "

I looked into her eyes a moment and nodded.

"We have some information that at the moment Orochimaru and Kabuto, are at a base we know the location of and he has few guards. Your mission would be to infiltrate his base and kill Orochimaru and Kabuto. Getting in may be troublesome but I'm sure you can do it. The problem will be getting out and killing the two. There is a high risk of death."

There was silence a moment.

"You don't need to accept. We can ask Shikamaru and his team but Tsunade said this would be a better solo mission and you are one of the few ninja who do best solo and are strong enough." Kakashi said.

I looked at him.

"I will take it; but not to prove my loyalty or strength to you. I will do it to save Shikamaru the trouble."

They looked at me.

"You will leave immediately." Shizune said.

I almost detected a hint of sorrow in her voice.

"I hope to return. But if I do not tell Shikamaru I said goodbye."

Tsunade looked at me.

"No goodbyes to anyone else?" She asked with sorrow.

"I know no one else who would need a goodbye."

"What about Naruto and Sasuke?"

"Who are they?" I asked coldly.

The three flinched visibly.

"They abandoned me six years ago and I have not heard from them once they are strangers to me."

I saw Kakashi turn away, Shizune look at the ground, and Tsunade pinch her lisp tight.

"We know you know that we do not trust you." Kakashi said.

"Of course, and you shouldn't. I am not as loyal as I used to be. I could kill you in a split second if I wanted to."

"You must understand that we will not mourn if you die and if you return a traitor you will be killed merciless. Even if you return after finishing your mission we will arrest you. We will not allow you to harm this village. The council wanted Tsunade to keep you under house arrest because of the danger you are but she refused. But if you return we will have to. You will be striped of your ninja ranks and become a normal citizen. This is your last mission Sakura, there will be no others. Please understand." Kakashi said.

Tsunade clenched her eyes shut. And I saw her hands claps together till her knuckles were white. Shizune had schooled her face but just looked over my head. Kakashi had set his mouth in a grim line and was doing his duty.

"I understand perfectly. I sort of wish it hadn't come to this, but I do not regret anything I did. I have to say that was a wise decision. I was getting close to deserting you anyways. If you had left me longer I would have betrayed you." I sang with humourless amusement.

"Could we have saved you from the coldness, saved your emotions, and kept the old Sakura?" Tsunade asked.

"I do not need emotions and I like the coldness. The old Sakura has been demolished there was no chance of saving her even before she was pushed back. I wish to say thank you though."

They all looked at me now.

"Thank you Kakashi, for everything. Thank you Tsunade, for everything. Thank you Shizune. I will probably even thank you as you strip me of my rank and put me under watch. I will thank you for saving me from myself….maybe."

Tsunade looked away and tossed me a scroll with the details and map for my mission.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

It didn't change me hearing those words but it did make me feel a tiny bit better. It told me they knew they were partly responsible for what happened to me. I turned on my heels and walked out of the tower. I headed home. When I reached it I went straight to my room. I ripped out a bag and stuffed some clothes in it. I threw in soldier pills and medic stuff. Then I pulled my ANBU outfit on. I strapped my weapon pouches on and a kanta at my waist. Shikamaru had got the Kanta for me for my birthday. I liked it. It was all black except for the silver blade. The hilt also had two cherry blossom petals engraved in it.

I walked downstairs and opened a drawer. I pulled out my will. I had made it years ago. It said goodbye to all my friends and told them how much I loved them. I snorted and ripped it up. I wrote a new one saying to let Shikamaru have my Go and Shougi boards. He also got to have anything else he wanted. I said goodbye to him and that was it. My will was in the favour of my only friend. Screw the others. I left it on my fridge and pulled my pack on. I looked at my mask. It was a fox with orange and red markings. It held a grin and made it look cold and mischievous. Foxes were crafty and keen, and mischievous and tricky. I pulled it on. I pulled my hood up and walked out my door.

I walked off for that gate. The sun was half set but I liked to do missions and such at night better then the day. I found no one at the gate. Before I might have found friends who were wishing me well on this mission but now the area was empty except for the guards. I looked back once. It may be the last time I looked upon my village. I snorted, not that I cared. I smirked under my mask and walked out the gate. My last thought as I ran into the night was 'maybe when this is done, and I'm a normal citizen, I can play shogi with Shikamaru more.'

--

For three days I ran at a good pace. I didn't run into any problems and was like a shadow in the trees. When sunset of the third day arrived I stopped in the clearing Surrounding Orochimaru's base. I saw the stairs leading to the underground base. I saw two guards standing beside it. They looked sleepy and didn't expect an attack. I fell down in the shadows and grabbed the one from behind. Before he could utter a word I twisted his head breaking his neck and killing him silently. The other guard had looked off for the moment and hadn't even noticed. I grinned wickedly as I snuck up behind him and did the same thing. The only thing heard was the soft crack of the neck and the thump as the bodies hit the ground. I didn't even bother to hide the bodies. I needed speed not stealth.

I slipped down the stairs and ran down the halls. I was like a ghost. I didn't make a sound and barely touched the ground. If any saw me they would look again to see nothing thinking I was never there. I killed any who saw me or any I saw, easily. I broke their neck or stabbed certain points that killed them instantly. I grinned still. I was one of the best silent killers in Kohona for a reason. I ran along slaughtering many without alerting the rest. I soon found the room I was looking for. I glanced in to see Orochimaru sitting in a chair reading some scrolls. Kabuto was talking to him softly and pointing out certain things in the scrolls. I slipped in and shut the door with a soft click. The two looked up at me and growled slowly standing.

"Kohona ANBU." Kabuto said.

"Hai." I nodded.

"I recognize that voice….Sakura?" Kabuto asked in almost disbelief.

I popped my mask off and showed my face along with the cold, cruel, mask that had made some flinch just looking at. They starred at me a moment.

"Sasuke is already gone." Orochimaru growled.

"I came here to kill you, not to get the pathetic Uchiha. He could have stayed with you for all I care."

They regarded me a moment. I got impatient. I popped my mask on and pulled my kanta free.

"Well we might as well get this over with I'm getting bored and need to decided if I want to go home after this." I said.

"You are no longer loyal to Kohona." Kabuto said. "I heard rumours that Kohona's blossom had got distant and they feared a betrayal."

"Rumours can be true." I said.

"Join me instead." Orochimaru said with a smirk.

I thought a moment.

"No thanks I don't want to be held back by weaklings like you two."

Their eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Kabuto kill her." Orochimaru ordered.

"With pleasure." Kabuto smirked pulling out a kuni.

I rolled my eyes. And lifted my kanta and in a move, almost to fast for Kabuto to see, I was in front of Kabuto my sword slicing up. My blade got him but he softened the blow with his knife and stepped back. His eyes were instantly sharp as he realized I was better then he expected. He lunged in and I saw a chakara scalpel in one hand. He would use the kuni as a diversion and try to kill me with the almost invisible blue scalpel. I pretended to fall for the diversion as I blocked the kuni. But before Kabuto could strike I had pulled a kuni free. He never got to scream as my kuni tore through his throat. It was a bit messy and blood splattered on me. I let his body drop. Well one was out of the way.

I turned to see Orochimaru gaping. I gave him a smirk, though he couldn't see it. I knew his arms still weren't at their best since the old Hokage had sealed them. He clumsily grabbed his sword which he had at his waist. I didn't even bother. I did some hand signs to fast to see. I had learned long ago it was useless to yell out my attacks too, it gave the enemy a heads up. I just took a deep breath and shot a large fireball at him. I had over the years studied many element jutsus. Sasuke had given me the idea of the fire jutsus. Orochimaru dodged but his hair got a bit singed. He glared at me as I sent numerous fireballs at him.

Finally I gave up on that and did more hand signs. He immediately was caught in the genjutsu. I made sure it was at least strong enough to hold him for a few seconds. I smirked. He was most likely stuck in his worst night mare. I walked up to him and put my kanta against his throat. Just as he broke the genjutsu I sliced my blade across his throat. His eyes widened once as his life left him. I let his body drop. I grinned. My mission was complete and I hadn't even got a scratch. I thought that for once Tsunade had sent me one an easy mission. She had totally over estimated my opponents. **'Or maybe they underestimated you; both your opponent and Tsunade.' **'I haven't heard from you in a long time.' I replied to inner Sakura. **'We have not needed to talk and you have not wanted to.' **She replied. I nodded and pushed her to the back of my mind. I still didn't want to talk to her.

I swiped the blood off my blade and slid it in my sheath. I heard the door open a second later. I turned to face about fifty of so furious sound ninja. I grinned though none noticed. They all pulled out weapons and got ready to do jutsus. I smirked. They were fools. We were in a small room. They would risk hurting their own team mates if they attacked in here and they wouldn't have as much room to move in. They all lunged and I hit the ground. My feet lasted out. I felt and heard the crunch of bones. That didn't stop the others though. Soon I was backed into a corner though twenty five of the enemy were dead. I did hand signs and started to breathe fire.

I heard the screams of the victims and laughed. They had cornered me but the room was so full that they couldn't dodge my attacks easily. I stopped the fire assault and went back to the old fashioned way; killing with a kuni. When they were finally all dead I walked over to the bodies of Orochimaru and Kabuto. I looked down at them. They were the real bodies; the two were really dead. I cut there heads off quickly and sealed them in a scroll. I was about to burn the bodies and leave when something caught my eye.

It was a red ring on Orochimaru's finger. It had small black lines in an undefined pattern. It seemed to sparkle even in the dim light. It was polished till it looked like glass. I tilted my head. It almost seemed to be made for those who were strong. I kneeled down. I gently grasped it and pulled it off the snake's finger. I slid it onto mine and almost gaped. It seemed to shrink. It then fit my finger perfectly. I knew Orochimaru's finger had to be at least twice as big as mine and it had fit him perfect so it couldn't logically fit mine. Unless there was some sore of jutsu on it. I shrugged it off and turned to burn the bodies, but stopped as I felt the presences of others.

Itachi's POV:

We ran effortlessly over the tree tops. The six of us ran side by side. We were wary but quick. Our mission was to eliminate Orochimaru. We had been trying to for a couple years but now we had the chance. He had had a fight with a hidden village and was low on guards. Kisame was grinning like mad. He seemed happy to finally get the chance to kill the snake. Hidan scowled slightly but he always did that. Kakuzu looked blank, Deidara was grinning with Kisame, and Sasori was looking bored. As we reached the clearing we froze. There on the ground by the stairs were the two guards. They were just lying there though. I motioned Sasori forwards. He dropped from the trees and crouched by one of the bodies. Then he stood and poked the other. He looked back at us.

"They had their necks broken. I doubt they knew what was happening before they were dead." He said.

We frowned as we dropped beside him.

"Seems someone beat us here." Kakuzu said.

We were all on guard again. I frowned slightly and quickly slipped into the base. As we sped down the halls we found more dead sound ninja, all had been skilfully killed. We knew the one who had come in had to be a top ninja and one of the best silent killers. We slowed as we reached the door we wanted. We didn't hear anything from inside. We stepped in and immediately froze. The whole room was littered with bodies. There had to be at least fifty. The one thing that caught our attention was the only living person. They stood in the center of the bodies. They had blood splattered on them and at their feet lay the bodies of Orochimaru and Kabuto. The person was an ANBU by the mask. They wore a cloak and I couldn't see anything but green eyes. They watched us calmly.

"You are from Kohona, ANBU?" Kisame asked slowly.

They gave us a curt nod. Suddenly I saw the ring on their finger.

"Where did you get the ring little ANBU?" I asked.

Everyone starred at the ring on their finger.

"Orochimaru had it."

"Into grave robbing?" Hidan asked.

"I don't normally take things but it seemed to beckon to me."

We all stiffened. I scowled. I looked at the others.

"Grab him." I said.

"Try it." The ANBU whispered.

We pulled out kuni and he pulled out a kanta.

"Let me try them first, un." Deidara said.

We nodded and the blonde lunged in already throwing bombs. The ANBU didn't even move as the bombs hurled towards him. Suddenly the ANBU was right in front of Deidara. We all gaped. The ANBU's speed at least rivalled mine. I noticed that all Deidara's clay bird/bombs were cut in half too. The kanta arched for Deidara with deadly aim. The blade was blocked by a second blade from Sasori as he pushed Deidara back out of the way. The ANBU jumped back and looked at the red head.

"Well I didn't suspect to ever see you again."

Sasori frowned.

"I thought I killed you the first time. But I guess I was wrong. Well I guess I'd better finish the job."

We all looked at Sasori in confusion but he seemed as confused as us. The ANBU leaped at Sasori in a flash the blade only a silver blur. Sasori pulled out a hidden blade and their blades locked their faces centimetres apart.

Sakura's POV:

"So Sasori, have you killed any people recently and made them into puppets?" I asked the red head.

He scowled. I chuckled. He still didn't know who I was.

"You know Chiyo was such a great help fighting you and helping me out."

His eyes widened slightly. Then he swiped with a second kuni. I let him. If I had wanted to, I could have stopped the blade. He jumped back beside the others as they watched me. I felt the strings on my mask fray from where Sasori's kuni had cut. Within a second the mask fell to the ground. It clattered against the stone. Not another word was uttered in the silence. I still had my cold cruel mask on as I looked up. I pushed my hood back and smiled twistedly at Sasori.

Itachi's POV:

We all starred at the pink haired woman. She had green eyes and a beautiful face. One thing that surprised me was her look. She had a face that read coldness and cruelty. I wondered how long she had been in the pit of loneliness without care or emotions. She smiled, but it looked wrong. Her smile held coldness and evil. I wondered how she had become a Kohona ninja. She couldn't be one of the most trusted ANBU. That was probably why she was on a solo mission. I saw Sasori's eyes widen and his mouth opened slowly.

"Haruno Sakura." He whispered.

"The one who tried to kill you, and almost succeeded?" Hidan asked.

"That was four years ago. Want to see if I can really kill you this time?" Sakura asked.

The woman spread her feet in an offensive position. I looked her over.

"You are the girl who was partners with the Kyuubi and my foolish little brother." I said.

She smirked slightly.

"I wondered how badly they would want you back." I said.

The girl started to laugh. It was a dark sound that almost made me shiver.

"Them want me back? I bet if you kidnapped me or something they would thank you. You know as soon as I get back they're going too… No they would never want me. I am to far gone for their likes."

We all looked at the woman.

"Explain." I said.

"Simple; I pushed everyone away. I gave even my teacher the cold shoulder. I refused every mission that expected me to prove my loyalty to my village. I would only take missions were I was expected to kill and where I had a chance of dying. I was to strong and I was on the verge of trying to kill them all and at least betraying them. They wouldn't really want me back."

We starred at the woman.

"Were you not the girl who chased my brother?" I asked.

"Yes but with age comes wisdom. I realize that was foolish. I almost wish that he would have stayed with Orochimaru so I could have carved his heart out."

She said it in an icy tone that could rival mine. Suddenly she frowned and seemed to think.

"I guess maybe one person would want me back." She whispered to herself.

I wondered who this one person would be. I looked at the woman. She wore the ring so we needed to take her to Pein. The woman's eyes focused and took on a hard glint.

"I…."

She seemed to still. Then she looked at me. Our eyes met. I saw in her eyes that she was like me. She had had expectations thrown on her and she had distanced herself and then left to rot in the pit of loneliness and despair. She sighed slightly.

"Do you want to fight me or can you just move. I want to go home. I promised him I would play Shougi with him."

I felt my eye twitch. She was thinking of playing Shougi while she was splattered in blood, standing in a ring of corpses, and surrounded by the strongest criminals alive. I wondered briefly who the 'him' she referred to was.

"We do not need to fight but we do need to take you to our leader." I said.

"Any strong reason?" She asked.

"Yes." I replied.

She seemed to sigh.

"I am guessing once I see him I will be given two choices. One will be instant death and the other will be something with high risks of death that I will most likely die from in the end."

I almost smirked. She was quite intelligent. She seemed to think a moment.

"Fine. I will come meet your leader."

Everyone glanced at me. I smirked slightly. The woman lowered her weapon but didn't seem to keen on sheathing it. I nodded and walked out the door. I knew the others would follow. As we set foot outside I jumped into the trees and started to run. I noticed that Sakura kept her guard up and a weapon ready and that the others were close enough to attack her if needed. She didn't seem too interested in fighting though. She almost looked bored as we ran through the trees. We ran for a couple hours in an eerie silence, all tensed.

We finally reached the base. It was a large house as big as the Hokage tower at least but flatter and wider. The whole area, a kilometre on each side, was surrounded by a large and strong Genjutsu. Pein, Konan, Sasori, and I had set it up. It would make sure that who ever entered who get turned around or go around the base without even knowing they had. It hadn't been found out, for ten years it had stayed and no one had got suspicious. Only those wearing Akatsuki rings could get in or those with some one wearing the ring. The rings let them pass through and made the genjutsu neutral. As soon as the door was open we all slid in.

"I will get Pein, wait in the meeting room." I said.

They all nodded and walked off leading Sakura. I slipped down the halls and knocked on our leader's door. It opened a minute later. The orange-haired man covered in piercings looked sharp.

"Did you succeed?"

"We need to talk."

His eyes sharpened and he understood something had happened.

"Are the rest in the meeting room?"

I nodded.

"I'll go wake Tobi and Zetsu."

"I will get Konan." He said.

I nodded and turned heading for Zetsu's door. I knocked and waited till the plant man opened the door.

"Yes Itachi?" His white side asked.

"Meeting, now."

"Something happen?" His dark side asked.

I nodded and moved on to the next door. The man with spiky raven black hair and an orange swirl mask opened the door. He just waited for me to speak.

"Meeting." I said.

"Okay Itachi!" He sang.

I turned and walked for the meeting room. As I reached it I found almost everyone there. I sat beside Sakura and beside Kisame. Tobi, Pein, and Konan walked in a second later. They all starred at Sakura a moment.

"Why is an ANBU in our base?" Pein asked.

"Itachi can explain." Kisame said.

The three sat down and everyone looked at me.

"We went to kill Orochimaru. We arrived to find this ANBU had beaten us to it. She killed a lot of sound along with Orochimaru and Kabuto. She now wears his ring."

Everyone sharpened.

"The ring chose her? An ANBU loyal to a village?" Konan asked.

"I wouldn't say loyal." Sakura mumbled.

We all looked at her a second.

"What do you mean the ring chose me?" She asked.

"The rings are made specially and have a special jutsu cast on them. They will only let those powerful enough to be an Akatsuki member, wear them. If you aren't strong enough you will not even be able to get it on your finger. Now explain how you got it." Pein said.

"Simple. I saw it and it seemed to pull me. It pretty much fell off Orochimaru's finger. It then shrunk to fit my finger. I don't think it will come off if I try to take it off." She said.

She twisted it and pulled but it wouldn't budge. There was silence.

"So she is our new member?" Hidan asked.

"New member?" Sakura asked.

"If you wear the ring or it chooses you, you become an Akatsuki member, even I can't say no. We could kill you but it might be more useful to let you stay." Pein said.

"Mh." Sakura said looking at the ring.

"You don't see to horrified or worried about being forced to be a member." Konan said.

"She has been forsaken by her village." Sasori said.

Everyone glanced at him.

"Would you be Haruno Sakura?" Zetsu's white side asked.

Sakura nodded.

"She is the best medic alive, her genjutsus can rival Itachi's, her taijutsu skills are at least as good as Might Gai and Rock Lee's, and she has inhuman strength. She has been offered position as ANBU captain but refused. She had refused every mission that expects her to be loyal to her village and only takes high risks. She has no friends. The counsel of her village has also agreed that she will be stripped of her rank, put under surveillance, and banned from being a ninja. She has come close to betraying her village a couple times and everyone fears she will very soon." His dark side chuckled.

Everyone was silent. No one was surprised at Zetsu's knowledge; he was Akatsuki's spy after all.

"So you aren't a soft, happy, and loyal ninja." Pein said.

Sakura smirked evilly.

"Will you join us with out a fight then?" Konan asked.

Sakura looked at her ring.

"Yes."

There was silence a moment.

"Then welcome to Akatsuki." Pein smirked.

Sakura nodded. Pein motioned that the meeting was over. Everyone quickly left. Sakura, Pein, and I stayed though. Sakura and Pein sized one another up.

"Itachi show her to a room.

"Leader…-sama…" Sakura started.

"Call me Pein."

"Pein, may I go back to Kohona to grab my stuff?"

Pein looked at her.

"What else do you want to do?"

We both knew Sakura didn't want to just go back to grab some things.

"I wish to say good bye to someone and I wish to show Tsunade what I have become."

We watched her a moment.

"You have friends and loved ones? I thought Zetsu said you were all alone." Pein said.

"I have one friend; Shikamaru of the Nara clan."

We continued to watch her.

"Fine you may go, but take Kisame and Itachi with you."

Sakura nodded. I sighed inwardly. We all stood and headed for the door. As Pein passed me he looked at me.

"Watch her till we trust her." He whispered glancing at Sakura. "Oh and give her the room next to yours."

I frowned.

"Then we will have to share a bathroom."

Pein grinned.

"You could use this chance to learn how to share and how to become more social."

I scowled but nodded slightly. We all walked out the door and split. I led Sakura to a spare room by mine. I opened the door for her.

"This is your room. You may decorate it if you wish. Kisame and I will take you to Kohona in the morning."

Sakura nodded. I waited till she was in her room before I shut the door. I walked to my room beside hers and walked din. I just pulled my cloak off and set it on my desk chair before I fell onto my bed. I soon drifted off.

Sakura's POV:

I looked around the room. It was a plain grey and there was a bed, a dresser, a nightstand, a desk, and a chair. There was a door leading to a bathroom too. I scowled as I saw the position of it. The side it was one suggested I shared it with someone. I sighed slightly and shrugged. I walked to the bed and sat down. I took my cloak off. I slid my kanta out of my waist but put it on the nightstand in reach. I kept my weapon pouches on. Just because they hadn't given me reason to doubt they were lying I was ready to turn on them in a second. I lay on the made bed and pulled my cloak over like a blanket ignoring the blankets I laid on. I easily fell asleep even if it was a restless sleep.

Itachi's POV:

I woke up at about six. I glanced at my alarm clock and sat up. I stood up still dressed from last night. I grabbed my cloak pulling it on. I slipped out the door and walked to Kisame's room across the hall. I knocked and was greeted by a sleepy looking shark.

"It's six in the morning…" He started.

"We are going to escort Haruno to Kohona so she may grab some things."

He looked at me a moment. Then he sighed and returned to his room. I waited a minute then Kisame came out with his cloak on, yawning. I walked to Sakura's room and I saw Kisame smirk.

"This room shares a bathroom with yours." He grinned.

"Blame Pein." I said.

He smirked again. I didn't even bother to knock. We both walked in. I stopped and looked at the little pink haired ANBU. She was on the bed under her cloak, not the blankets. I saw that her weapon pouches were still on and her sword was in reach. Kisame went to wake her but I stopped him.

"If you touch her she will kill you. She is ready to do so."

He gulped.

"Haruno, wake up." I said.

Before we could blink the woman was standing her hand on the sword. I did catch her with my sharingan on though. Kisame gulped again. The woman looked at us and strapped her sword on. She pulled her black cloak on and walked up to us but stayed out of arms reach.

"Let's go." I said.

She nodded and followed me out the door. Kisame followed behind her, watching her warily. We walked through the base silently. When we reached the outside we launched into the trees. We ran in silence, side by side, with Sakura in the middle. She seemed quite calm and bored.

--

We ran for three days. Each day we got closer to Kohona. We were pretty silent the whole time. I didn't care, I liked the silence. When we camped at night Sakura always stayed a safe distance from her and we made sure we always knew where she was. She relaxed a bit but not much. It was about dinner of the third day when we were finally reaching Kohona. We stopped and Sakura looked at us.

"Stay out of sight. Do you want to meet me at my house?"

I nodded. She gave us her address and handed us her keys. Then without a word we ran off towards a different gate as Sakura slowed and looked to be coming back from her mission.

Sasuke's POV:

The three of us walked slowly together. Naruto had his hands behind his head looking deep in thought. He had changed over the past six years. He was a bit wiser, stronger, and smarter. He was still obnoxious and loud though. I walked with my hands in my pockets looking ahead. Jiraya just walked beside us day dreaming. I wondered how much everyone had changed. I wonder how much Sakura had changed. Naruto said that he hadn't seen her since he had left almost six years ago.

Everyone knew we would be back today at about dinner and I wondered if anyone would be at the gate waiting for us. I smiled slightly. Soon we saw the gate come into view. Naruto grinned and picked up the pace. Jiraya fell from his day dreams and also walked faster. I sighed softly and followed the two. As we got closer to the gates we saw some people waiting. When we finally made it to the gates we found Tsunade, Kakashi, Shizune, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Neji, Tenten, Lee, Gai, Kurenai, Kiba, Hinata, Shino, and Iruka waiting. They all smiled and waved. Naruto leapt at Hinata and crushed her in a hug. Hinata turned red but surprisingly didn't faint. She hugged him back. Everyone was silent a moment.

"Welcome back Naruto and Sasuke." Some said after minute.

Shino, Kiba, Hinata, Tenten, Neji, Lee, Ino, and Choji all crowded around and started to babble questions. Gai, Kurenai, and Jiraya all stood off a little chatting too. I wondered where Sakura was.

"Where is Sakura?" I asked Ino.

Everyone quieted.

"I haven't seen her in a month." Lee said.

"I haven't seen her three weeks." Tenten and Hinata chorused.

"I haven't seen her in about a month in a half." Kiba said as Shino nodded.

"We saw her a little more then a week ago." Neji, Choji, and Ino said.

I frowned. They hadn't seen her in a couple weeks and they didn't even seem concerned. Something was wrong.

"Okay guys run off. We need to talk with Naruto and Sasuke." Tsunade said.

Most of the ones who had gathered around us headed off glancing at us with sad eyes. Naruto was frowning. Iruka patted Naruto on the back and smiled.

"Welcome back. I'll have to buy you ramen later."

Naruto grinned. Iruka then walked off to. Tsunade, Shizune, Kakashi, and Shikamaru, stayed though. We watched them. Shikamaru was almost glaring at the Hokage and the others. That really confused me. I had never seen Shikamaru show any emotion other then boredom. Tsunade glanced at him.

"I'm sorry Shikamaru but this has to be done."

"No it doesn't." He said evenly.

"She even told us it was a smart idea." Shizune said.

"We will knock you out and arrest you if you try to stop us." Kakashi said.

Jiraya who had been standing next to us was scowling.

"Where is Sakura?" Naruto blurted out.

Everyone looked at him.

"She is on a mission. She should be back any minute." Tsunade said.

Naruto blinked.

"Why hasn't anyone seen her in a long time?" I asked

"She rarely leaves her house and always trains alone." Kakashi said sadly.

"But the Sakura I know would never do that!" Naruto said.

Tsunade, Kakashi, and Shizune looked grim.

"She is not the Sakura you know." Tsunade said harshly.

Even Jiraya seemed upset by her tone.

"What happened?" He asked.

"We don't quite know, but she changed; drastically." Shizune whispered.

"Oh you know what happened." Shikamaru almost snapped.

We looked at him.

"You show disrespect to your Hokage, Nara." Jiraya said.

Shikamaru took a deep breath.

"I will not respect her as much after this." He said calmly.

Suddenly one of the guards whistled to Tsunade. She looked down the road and we all saw an ANBU walking towards us. After a minute they stopped in front of us. They wore a green cloak and a mask. Their outfit was splattered in blood. Their mask was fox. We saw green eyes.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled.

He lunged at her to hug her. Suddenly he was pulled back before he reached her. It was Kakashi who pulled him back.

"That is not a good idea Naruto." He said.

Sakura looked at us and bowed her head slightly in acknowledgement. Then she reached her hand back and undid her mask. We froze at her face. It was hard and cold. It was cruel. Like my brother's, but crueller. She watched us coldly.

"I have finished my mission Tsunade."

"Was it a success?"

"Yes." She said tossing the woman a scroll.

"What was your mission?" Jiraya asked curious.

"Her mission was to infiltrate the sound base and kill Orochimaru and Kabuto."

There was dead silence.

"Sakura isn't strong enough to do that." I said.

They glanced at me.

"Do not test me Uchiha." Sakura said coldly.

I blinked and almost took a step back. Naruto looked confused.

"I killed Orochimaru, Kabuto, and at least fifty sound nin."

There was silence again.

"Sakura…." Naruto started.

Sakura looked at him.

"What happened too you?" He asked.

"I was left in the dark, the loneliness. I have no friends and few emotions."

"That's not true." Shikamaru interrupted.

Everyone looked at him.

"I guess I do have one friend." Sakura said.

Then she walked to Shikamaru and gave him a hug. We were all surprised. I wondered how the shadow boy had got close to Sakura when it seemed no one else had.

"I'm glad to see you again Shikamaru-kun."

We all almost gaped at the suffix.

"It's good to see you back and safe Sakura-chan."

She nodded and pulled back. She glanced at us then at Tsunade. Tsunade took a deep breath and stepped forwards. We now noticed the papers under her arms. She cleared her throat.

"Haruno Sakura you are here by stripped of you ninja rank, you must always be with someone, and you are banned from being a ninja for Kohona."

Sakura pulled her ANBU mask from her waist and cracked it in half. Then she tore off her ninja head band and held it in a fist.

"I'm so sorry." Tsunade whispered.

"Don't be. You are making the right decision."

We all stood in utter and complete shock. Finally Naruto gasped.

"How could you do that?!" He asked.

"Sakura is a danger to our village she is no longer to be trusted. The counsel has decided on this course of action. If Sakura does anything to betray us now she will be executed."

I was still standing in shock. Sakura, the small girl who always had a smile and was intelligent that I had known had just been stripped of her rank and pretty much arrested. Jiraya seemed in shock too.

"You are being rash…" He started.

"No, they aren't."

We all turned to Sakura.

"I am not loyal to this village and I won't be. I am too strong for my own good and I will end up betraying them."

"Sakura…." Naruto almost sobbed. "What about wanting to become a great kunoichi?"

Sakura let out a small laugh.

"I already have; I'm strong, fast, talented, just a little twisted."

We all watched her.

"You may keep your head band Sakura but you may never wear it." Tsunade whispered.

Sakura nodded and stuffed it in her pocket.

"Naruto and Sasuke will watch you tonight. I will have other ANBU watch you but I think they need to talk to you, and I'm guessing you and Shikamaru have already planned something."

Sakura nodded. Then she looked up at Kakashi, Shizune, and Tsunade.

"I am no longer a ninja in your eyes or in the eyes of Kohona. You are no longer my senseis or Hokage. You are not welcome at my house. Tsunade may come if duty calls but I will not welcome her."

They all winced. Then Sakura started to walk off. Shikamaru fell in step with her. The three watched with blank eyes. Jiraya also stood still. Naruto suddenly ran after then staying next to Sakura. I instead turned to Tsunade.

"Why?" Was all I asked.

"As she said, she was going to betray us soon, it wasn't a possibility it was a fact. She is no longer my student, she is gone." Tsunade said.

Tsunade's eyes clenched shut. I noticed that Sakura had dropped her ANBU mask. Kakashi walked to it and gently picked it up.

"I never thought she would turn out like this." He whispered.

"What did you do to make her like this?" Jiraya asked.

"Her friends gave up on her before they even tried to help her, and as she started to change we never tried to help either, we just showed her that we distrusted her." Shizune said.

"How did Shikamaru get to her?" I asked.

"He never gave up and it seems since he is so intelligent he caught her. He helped her. She would have betrayed us long ago with out him." Tsunade said.

"He seemed mad about your choice." Jiraya said.

"He thought she could still be saved. He wanted to try and save her but the decision had been made." Kakashi said.

I looked at them a moment then jogged off to the other three walking away. I caught up to them and saw that they were silent. We walked to Sakura's house where she let us in. She then headed up to her room to change as we sat on her couch. When she was gone Naruto and I rounded on Shikamaru. We all looked at one another a moment.

"So how close are you two?" Naruto asked.

"Closer then you will ever be." He said.

We looked at him.

"She doesn't like you two anymore. You are strangers to her."

We both winced.

"She hates Sasuke for leaving and she hates Naruto for leaving."

"But I left to get Sasuke back for her." Naruto said.

"Yes and she loved you for that for a while, but you made a mistake. You didn't write once, you didn't send word or anything. She believed you dead for years. The only thing she had to say you were alive was Tsunade's word and she stopped trusting that year's ago."

We all fell into silence. Suddenly Shikamaru stood up. He walked to Sakura's closet and pulled out a Shougi board and started to set it up. Then he went to make tea. He looked to be right at home.

Itachi's POV:

Kisame and I saw Sakura walk in with the Kyuubi, my foolish little brother, and a boy from the Nara clan. When they walked away we sped to her house. We stayed in Sakura's room and waited. She walked up and in a second later. She glanced at us and grabbed two bags. She started to stuff her clothes, books, medical stuff, weapons and scrolls, and personal items. She then grabbed a pair of clothes and slipped into a bathroom. She emerged a minute latter in black cargo pants, and a black zip-up tank top/t-shirt. She looked blank. She grabbed her bags and turned to us.

"Stay out of sight."

"Can't we leave now?" Kisame almost whined.

"I promise to play Shougi with him."

I didn't know what she was talking about but it seemed like something important so we nodded. She looked at us a moment then slipped to the stairs. She set he bag at the top and silently glided down her stairs.

Sakura's POV:

I walked into the living room to find Shikamaru sitting in front of the board ready to go. The other two sat on the couches. I smiled at Shikamaru and he smiled back. I sat opposite of him. Then he made his move. We started the game in silence. Naruto and Sasuke seemed to see we didn't want to be disturbed. Finally we slammed the last pieces down and looked at the game.

"I win." I said.

Shikamaru grinned at me.

"Well that's twelve wins for you, and sixteen for me, this month."

"You guys play all the time?" Naruto asked.

"Almost every day." I said.

There was silence.

"Thank you Shikamaru-kun."

"You're welcome Sakura-chan."

I smiled at him.

"Goodbye." He said.

I almost winced. He was too intelligent for his own good. He knew I was leaving. We both stood and bowed our heads to the other.

"Sasuke, Naruto, wait in the kitchen and don't peek."

The two nodded slowly and walked to my kitchen through the arch.

"So you are leaving." Shikamaru whispered.

"I have no future here."

We made sure we were quiet enough that Naruto and Sasuke couldn't hear.

"Stay here with me." He pleaded.

"I'm sorry."

There was silence a minute.

"You have no need to be sorry."

I looked at him gratitude on my face. I clasped his hand in mine.

"You were the one who saved me Shikamaru. Thank you."

He nodded and pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back and let my face rest in the crook of his neck.

"The game board is yours and anything else you want."

"I want you to stay."

"I know."

His hands hugged me tighter. I leaned my face back a bit. Shikamaru did the same thing but then leaned in closer to me his lips capturing mine. I may not love him like this but I could give him this much. His mouth moulded to mine as his tongue entered my mouth. His mouth pushed harder against my mouth demanding more. I moaned slightly and his one hand slid up to the back of my neck deepening the kiss. His one arm still crushed me in a half hug as he kissed me. I tightened my arms around his neck and kissed him back. When we finally ran out of breath we broke apart. We took a step back and glanced to the other two. Sasuke was glaring and almost advancing on Shikamaru, Naruto was holding him back with all his strength.

"Well I have to say that was a very heated kiss."

Naruto and Sasuke froze at the voice and looked up at Kisame and Itachi who stood at the base of my stairs. Shikamaru seemed to know they had been here. Kisame held my bags and was grinning. I sighed slightly.

"I told you to stay out of sight."

"Yeah but we got bored poking around your room." Kisame laughed.

I slowly let my arms circling Shikamaru drop.

"If you ever need anything find me." I whispered.

Then I pulled my blank mask on and turned to the two waiting for me. I grabbed my black cloak from the top of one bag. I pulled it on and grabbed my bags from the shark who was still grinning. I gave him a blank stare.

"Itachi." Sasuke hissed.

Itachi glanced at his brother.

"Hurry over here Sakura." Naruto said.

I snorted softly. Then I pulled a kuni from my pouch. I pulled my head band from a pocket. I set the tip of the blade against the leaf symbol. In one fluid movement I slashed it in half. Naruto winced, Sasuke continued to glare at his brother, Shikamaru looked blank almost a bit sad, Kisame grinned more, and Itachi even smirked slightly. I pulled my head band on.

"I thought that Hokage of yours banned you from wearing that." Kisame teased.

"What Hokage of mine?" I asked.

He chuckled.

"You watched?" I asked calmly.

"Wouldn't have missed it." Itachi said blankly.

I nodded slightly. I looked back at Shikamaru.

"Thank you."

I bowed my waist down. Then I looked at Naruto and Sasuke. My cold eyes held theirs.

"Hate will destroy a person so I leave my hate with you. Now all my bonds are broken."

Itachi's eyes flickered with something I thought may be surprise. Then the three of us did the hand signs for the transportation jutsu. Kisame disappeared in what looked like a swirl of water, Itachi vanished in what was a swirl of dead leaves, and I disappeared in a swirl of cherry blossom.

Itachi's POV:

We all landed softly outside of Kohona. We sped away at top speed knowing some ANBU would be chasing us if we didn't hurry. I watched Sakura closely. I knew she had not kissed the shadow boy out of love. It had been obvious to me. I was also surprised by what she had said, 'Hate will destroy a person…' I stepped up beside Sakura. Kisame seemed a bit surprised. Sakura looked at me.

"Why did you thank him?" I asked.

"Shikamaru?"

I nodded.

"He saved me from myself."

I looked at her.

"With out him I'm sure I would have been like a second one of you… maybe not as bad. With out that one true friend I would have betrayed them so long ago, killing a lot of them. I had expectations like you. I was expected to be great. My team consisted of the famous copy ninja, the last Uchiha, and the Kyuubi, apprentice of one of the Sannin. I was loaded with expectations for just being on that team. I am also the last Haruno so I was expected to be strong. The only way I became as strong as I am, was to lock my emotions away."

I nodded.

"What you said, 'hate will destroy a person' was very true."

Sakura glanced at me.

"I know you tried to make your brother hate you so that he would be too weak to do so. You left your brother alive not out of mercy but to torture him slowly. The more your brother hates you the more mistakes he will make."

I smirked. Kisame just starred at us. Sakura looked blank.

"You know how much hate you can feel when a clan or family expects so much of you. You know that you have to get ride of that hate or lock it away. You got rid of it by killing your family, you worked it out."

I smirked again.

"I did the same thing. But I didn't do it in such an obvious way."

"How then?" Itachi asked.

"I distanced my self and made people get used to seeing me only once a week or every couple of weeks. When they got used to that I waited till the perfect moment. I slipped out and met my parents, returning from a mission, a distance from Kohona. They saw there 'troubled daughter' and let their guard down asking why I was there. I killed them before they knew what happened and disposed of the bodies."

I nodded. It had been a good plan, she was intelligent. Kisame was still starring at us.

"I can't believe you two are having a conversation. No one has got Itachi to talk that much except Leader." Kisame said.

"Because no one else is intelligent enough, too carry a conversation on with me."

Kisame opened his mouth then snapped it shut scowling. Sakura smirked. Then there was silence again.

-


	26. Uzumaki Kagome : Crossover

Kagome leapt from the well and looked around smiling. She had already cloaked her aurora and scent with her miko powers. No one would know where she was unless they saw of heard her. But she had learned over the years how not to be seen or heard. She hefted her black back pack farther on her back. She scanned the familiar clearing in silence. It hadn't changed since the first time she had come here five years ago.

Yes, five long years. She was now eighteen. She had grown a lot physically and mentally. She was a good hunter, tracker, fisher, and camper. She also had a lot of stamina and she was stronger. Then she had grown her hair to her waist, her body had filled out in the right places, and she had grown a few inches. At her neck she wore four shards. Two were Koga's and two they had found. Somehow in the past five years Kagome had mastered her miko powers too.

Her friends Sango the last exterminator, Miroku a cursed monk, Shippo an orphan kitsune, Kirara; Sango's a neko, and Inuyasha a hanyou were waiting for her. She had started to go home less because Inuyasha had threatened that they would leave her behind and get Kikyo to take her place. Her friends didn't stand up for her either. They all wanted to kill Naraku and find the last jewel shards too. Kikyo was always close and Kagome knew Inuyasha wasn't just saying that, he would really get Kikyo to replace her. It was obvious that he and Kikyo had already mated. Kagome had been heart broken at first since the betrayal had been so abrupt. That had been two years ago. She had gotten over it.

She just shook the thoughts away while sighing and slipped down the path towards a different clearing where her group waited. Kaede had died two years ago and they weren't as welcome in the village. So they all camped near the well but not beside it. Kagome's feet touched the ground softly barely leaving any trace of her. She dodged every branch skilfully. When she got closer to the clearing she slowed. She heard voices and wanted to know what they were saying. She hid behind the last tree and listened.

"Is this the right choice?" Miroku asked.

"Of course, love." Sango said.

"Kagome just slows us down. She's weak, pathetic, and annoying. She always needs to be saved. Beside Kikyo is way stronger then her. If Kikyo had her whole soul then she would be even stronger." Inuyasha said.

"Who will look after me?" Shippo asked.

"I'll be your new mother." Kikyo said. "I will also save Kohaku by purifying his jewel and healing his wound. I will also study curses to heal Miroku."

"So it's settled. When Kagome returns we kill her and close the well." Sango said firmly.

"Yes." They all chorused.

.--.

They all spun as they heard a throat being cleared. They spun to see Kagome standing at the edge of the clearing. She looked at them with empty eyes. There was nothing in those once soft overflowing blue eyes. They were sharp but completely empty of emotion, feelings, and anything else. They all stood starring at her wondering how much she had heard. Kirara's tails twitched as she looked between Kagome and her mistress. Kagome glanced at her.

"Inuyasha. I followed you for the past three years loyally. I saved you a few times and gave you nothing but my love. When you threw me to the side for Kikyo I let you with only a few tears. Miroku. It was I who let you join. It was I who helped you when you needed help. I helped you reach out to Sango. Sango. I saved you from yourself numerous times. I tried my hardest to save your brother. I helped you find Miroku. Shippo. I showed you nothing but motherly love. I gave you my attention and love. I gave you what ever you wanted. Kikyo. Even though you have tried to kill me I never tried to hurt you. I let you have Inuyasha without a fight."

There was silence. No one noticed she hadn't mentioned Kirara.

"I have given to you all nothing but kindness and caring. I never once gave you reason to hate me. I may be a bit weak but that does not give you the right to take my life." She said sharply.

There was more silence as everyone almost felt ashamed for what they had been planning. Kagome looked at them again and they flinched at her eyes. They weren't just empty they were filled with hate.

"If you hate me then so be it. I will leave you be. You hate me so I will let you have your hate. I will leave you and I won't bother you again. I hope that you will not think me your friend when we next meet."

There was silence again and everyone looked at the ground as Kagome scanned them with empty but hate-filled eyes. Then she turned sharply and walked off.

"Wait…" Sango started.

"Follow me and I will kill you." Came her cold reply.

Everyone watched her go.

.--.

Kagome walked through the trees blind by rage and not knowing where she headed. 'How dare they betray me?!' She thought furiously. She didn't even notice that as she walked a black aurora surrounded her. Every demon with in a kilometre ran for their lives. The group she had left behind starred in her direction with wide eyes, shaking, as they felt the power. Kagome kept walking and cursing the group over and over again. The black power disintegrated the demons and animals within ten feet and the trees and plants died as she passed. She didn't notice though. All the hate she had held in for years that had been building up was now being released. She kept walking leaving a clear trail, of destruction. None dared to follow her.

She knew not how long she walked for but when she stopped it was dark out. The black power receded into her body and she dropped to her knees in the grassy field. She was soaked and she wondered when it had started to rain. She sat there as she reined in the anger. She stayed kneeling letting the water soak her. She shivered slightly. She wished she had someone; someone to help her, to keep her warm, to give her happiness, and love. She wanted someone that would be there for her. She had hoped to find that person in this era. Her present era seemed to alien to her now. She hated that side of the well. Now here, was where she wanted to spend the rest of her life. She had been selfless for the whole five years, helping others and giving for nothing in return. Then they thanked her by betraying her. She had given up five years of her life to help them and she got nothing. Not even friendship. All she wanted was love and acceptance. She sat in the rain for god knows how long.

Suddenly the rain stopped. She looked up and still saw that raining but she was being shielded from the rain. She looked up higher and saw soft white. She felt someone standing right next to her. She felt their clothes brushing her skin. She looked higher and met red eyes. She starred into Naraku's eyes a moment. She realized he had opened his baboon pelt and was standing with her inside with him. She looked at him with empty eyes. She didn't care if he was here to kill her or to taunt her. But she doubted he was here to do that. He was looking down at her with clear calm red eyes. He looked serious not a hint of mockery on his face. He seemed calm and almost caring.

"Little miko." He said.

"Naraku." Kagome nodded.

"You look cold."

"I am."

"Why do you not move to shelter?"

"Where?"

"Now that is a good question."

He looked at her and she met his stare.

"Come with me little miko."

"Why?"

"Your 'friends' never deserved you. Come with me little miko I will help you."

She looked up at him. That was what she had wanted. She had just wanted someone who would help her. He could use her forever as long as he helped and accepted her. He held out a hand and she rested her hand in his larger one without hesitation. He pulled her to her feet and close. She shivered again. He wrapped the baboon pelt tightly around both of them. They were surrounded by miasma as they flew off.

Naraku's POV:

I starred at the miko in my arms. I had watched the whole thing through Kanna's mirror. I had watched her friends betray her. They had never deserved the miko or her powers. They had been fools. They hadn't even recognized the power this woman had. She had way more then Kikyo and they thought Kikyo was stronger. I almost let a chuckle escape. They had let one of the most powerful people go and didn't even know it. Kagome leaned into me. I could feel her shiver. She had been in the rain for hours. I had watched for a while. I had been a bit surprised when she hadn't run, screamed, or fought as I had stepped beside her. I had more then half expected her too. But when she had looked up at me I had knew she wouldn't. I had known as soon as I saw her eyes. They had been empty. I had seen wisps of hate but nothing else.

I could remember the first time I had seen her and her group. She had had large blue eyes that over flowed with happiness and cheer. Now she almost looked dead; almost like Kohaku. I also noticed now, that her scent had changed slightly when the black powers had emerged. As we neared my castle we descended to the courtyard. I saw Kagura waiting for me. She probably didn't even notice Kagome who was cuddled up to me for warmth under my baboon pelt. As I touched down Kagome stayed close to me not even bothering to look where we were.

"Prepare a room for our guest Kagura." I said.

She blinked.

"Guest?" She asked.

I opened my cloak slightly and she starred with wide eyes at the empty looking miko leaning into me. Then she turned and trotted off. I slowly walked with the miko to the castle. She didn't even look around she just starred straight ahead lost in her own thoughts. I walked inside after Kagura. We soon found her stepping out of a room. A weaker demon, one of our few servants, was behind her. The room was set up already. It had been before ready for anyone at a moments notice. The last occupants of the castle, who I had killed, had had the whole place set up quite nicely. Kagura and the servant walked off and I led Kagome into the room.

I walked to the chair by the desk and sat her down. She blinked and finally looked around in curiosity. She looked at me. I let the pelt I wore slip from my shoulders. It pooled around her on the chair. I walked to the wardrobe and pulled out a beautiful black kimono. It had red ravens all over it. I walked back to Kagome. She looked at me waiting. I pointed to a door.

"That leads to your own personal springs. Go warm up and wash, then change into this."

She nodded and gently took the kimono. She stood and glided to the door. She stepped in and shut the door. I just grabbed my pelt and walked off to my room. When I reached it I changed quickly into something dry and then walked to another room while sending a demon servant named Saya to wait for Kagome. I sat down at a table and fell into my thoughts and plans. After a while the door to the room opened again and Saya let Kagome in. My eyes watched her as she walked to the table and sat across from me. She looked very good in the form fitting Kimono. Her eyes looked less empty but they still weren't soft, they were hard.

"Little Miko will you stay here and work with me?" I asked.

"Yes."

I was slightly surprised she had let me get away with calling her little miko. She usually was quite touchy about being called anything other then her name.

"I will do what ever you ask. The only thing I ask in return is a promise."

"What promise would that be?" I asked curiously.

"I want you to promise me that you will not betray me."

I looked at her and nodded.

"I swear that I will not betray you."

"You may use me in what ever form for as long as you want… All I wanted was acceptance." She whispered. "All I did for them was show them kindness and love. I get betrayal in return. All I want now from you is acceptance and I will do anything for you. Anything."

I almost smirked. All I had to do was acknowledge her and I would have the perfect obedient servant. Saya walked in suddenly carrying a tray of food. She set some by Kagome and brought me some before leaving quickly. Kagome looked at the food then me. I picked up some of the food and looked at her.

"Eat little miko."

She immediately picked up the bowl of rice and her chopsticks. She dug in but ate slowly in silence.

"I will train you."

She looked at me.

"It may take a while but I will train you. I even know someone to train you in the miko department."

"I have mastered my miko powers."

"Have you not yet noticed your powers have changed?"

She blinked.

"Your powers turned black when your friends betrayed you. You have become a black miko. You are still pure but your powers are stronger and black. This is because you experienced great pain. You are still pure, but not as pure. Your powers turn black because they have absorbed your hate and pain. They did this so you stayed pure. If your powers had not absorbed the hate and pain you would have become tainted."

She stopped eating and looked thoughtful. Then she sighed slightly.

"I know a woman who can help you master your new powers. They are much like your old powers but you will be more tempted to hate when using your powers and they will kill humans along with demons, innocent or not."

She nodded and started to eat again. We ate in silence. When we finished Saya returned and took the dishes away. Then I led Kagome back to her room. I told her I would fetch her in the morning for her first lessons. Then I returned to my room and fell into a light sleep.

.--.

I woke in the morning early. I had Kanna summoned and looked into her mirror at Kagome's old group.

.--. WITH KAGOME'S OLD GROUP.--.

"Where did that bitch go?" Inuyasha growled pacing.

Miroku, Sango, and Kirara sat in front of the fire and Kikyo tried to sooth Inuyasha while Shippo cuddled into her arms.

"Don't worry we'll find her." Kikyo cooed.

"She can't hide for ever." Sango said.

"Some one will notice her. She is a lone miko looking for the jewel shards most likely." Miroku said.

"And she won't last long by herself." Kikyo said.

"Besides, Kikyo said the well has sealed so she won't be able to go back." Sango said.

"What worries me, are the powers we sensed yesterday." Miroku pondered.

"Those weren't her powers. They couldn't have been hers. They felt different." Kikyo said.

"Besides, I followed the trail and I smelled a different scent that wasn't Kagome's." Inuyasha scoffed.

They all nodded.

"So we still plan to kill her?" Shippo asked.

"Yes." The others said.

"We need Kikyo more then her." Sango said.

"She seemed so sad." Shippo said.

"Of course she did, because she is a weak pathetic girl." Inuyasha said.

"I guess." Shippo said.

He cuddled closer to Kikyo who stroked him.

"So you'll be my new mommy?" He asked Kikyo.

"Yes."

"Okay, now I have a stronger, prettier mommy." He smiled.

Kikyo smiled back. Sango and Miroku almost 'awed' at the sight. Kirara's tails just twitched as she seemed thoughtful. Sango glanced at her neko.

"What is it Kirara? You will help us kill Kagome right? This is so we can save Kohaku." She said.

Kirara mewed a couple times. (~cat language~)

~ I don't know if I want to kill Lady Kagome. She is so nice to me and all of you. She seemed really sad too. Besides how do you know Kikyo can help Kohaku? You all think she is stronger then Lady Kagome but you are wrong~

Sango smiled at her not understanding a word she said.

"I knew you would help." She grinned.

Kirara mewed again.

~No I said I don't want to kill Kagome!~

Sango smiled at her again and went to pull her close. Kirara jumped back and hissed. Then she started to mew.

~I always thought you would always be my smart mistress but you are being mean and foolish. Kagome was like your sister then you betrayed her so you could try to save your dead brother. He is beyond saving. I doubt anyone could save him unless Naraku frees him. Stop being so foolish. You were so mean to Kagome!~

Sango frowned still not understanding her. Of course Sango had never and would never understand Kirara since she was human and Kirara spoke in the neko tongue.

"Kirara come here now or I shall have to punish you! You are mine and you must listen to me!" She said firmly.

Kirara hissed and backed up.

~You can't command me like that. I am loyal to you but I am not your slave~

Sango stood resting her hand on her sword.

"I never expected a betrayal from you." She hissed.

Kirara hissed.

~Well neither Kagome nor I expected a betrayal from you!~

Sango glared at the cat.

"If you come back to me now your punishment won't be too harsh but if you continue to disobey me I will have to deal with you."

~I am my own person I am not yours to control~ Kirara hissed.

"I'm getting annoyed with your 'mewing'. To bad you aren't intelligent enough to think for your self and talk."

~I am smart enough you ignorant human! I understand you perfectly well but you just aren't smart enough to understand me!~

Miroku scowled at the cat and everyone was watching. Shippo was looking at Kirara with a small frown.

"Come one Kirara listen to your mistress." Inuyasha said.

Kirara hissed at all of them. In a burst of flame she turned huge. She leapt into the sky dodging Sango's hiraikotsu. She flew off before the others could get her. She knew where she could go. She flew off quickly towards the mountains. After a few hours she saw the cave she wanted. As she got closer she made out wolf scouts pointing to her. As she landed they surrounded her. Suddenly the wolf leader pushed past the others and blinked at her.

"You're the cat who travelled with my Kagome and the mutt." Koga said.

~Yes.~

He blinked. He could most likely understand her since the wolf language and the language of cats was very similar.

"I haven't talked to you before." He said.

~I had nothing to speak to you of~

"Why are you here and where is your group?" He asked

Kirara wilted.

~They betrayed Lady Kagome~

"WHAT?!" He roared.

He took deep breathes trying to suppress his anger. His men all held him down as he started to lash out at nothing. When he was under control her motioned his men back to their work. Then he sat down and Kirara also sat.

"I am guessing you didn't or you wouldn't be here."

Kirara nodded.

"Tell me what happened."

~Inuyasha wanted Kikyo to live again, but part of Kikyo's soul was in Lady Kagome. For Kikyo to live, Lady Kagome needed to die. Sango wanted her brother back and Miroku wanted his wind tunnel gone. Kikyo promised to save Kohaku and to cure Miroku of his curse. She also promised to be a better mother for Shippo. I don't know if she was lying or not but they all believed her. They decided they needed a strong alive Kikyo more then a loveable Lady Kagome. They planned to kill her~

"You say 'planned to' not 'they did' so she must still be alive." Koga interrupted.

Kirara nodded.

~Lady Kagome overheard. She was distraught then taken over by hate. She just walked off. I don't know where she went. None of us do. She has not gone home. When she left her scent and powers changed too. Then she disappeared, her scent and all~

"So she is out there all alone?" Koga asked calmly.

Kirara could smell he was angry though.

~Yes. The others seem to think she won't last long because they think she's weak. But she is stronger then Kikyo and has learned a lot. She could last forever by herself~

"And why are you here?"

Kirara wilted.

~I wished to warn you not to go to the group in search of Lady Kagome. And I had no where else to go~

"What about your mistress the slayer?"

Kirara scowled.

~She seems to think she owns me, and that I am her slave. She told me I must help them kill Lady Kagome. But I love Lady Kagome…My mistress tried to kill me just a while ago. They are no longer my friends and she in no longer my mistress. Lady Kagome will be my new mistress when I find her~

Koga nodded approvingly.

"We will look for her together. You may stay with us. You will be considered part of my clan."

Kirara bowed her head.

~Thank you~

Koga nodded and stood. Kirara turned small and he held out an arm. She leapt to his shoulder. He told Ginta and Hakkaku that he was going. Then in a tornado he sped off with Kirara.

. THE GROUP—

"I can't believe Kirara betrayed me!" Sango screeched. "I'll kill her when I find her!"

"We'll help too, but since she flew I will not be able to track her." Inuyasha scowled.

"We will continue to look for Kagome but keep an eye out for Kirara." Kikyo said.

They all nodded agreement. Sango grabbed her weapon and everyone packed up. Then they set off.

. WITH NARAKU—

Naraku watched the group and the neko's betrayal in Kanna's mirror. He watched patiently. He didn't watch where the neko went though. Naraku was slightly surprised she had abandoned the group and her mistress but it wasn't big news. He dismissed Kanna as Saya brought Kagome into the room. Saya bowed and scurried away leaving Kagome and Naraku alone.

"Little miko, I wish to inform you that the slayer's neko has abandoned the group. It seems she wasn't too happy with their betrayal."

Kagome nodded.

"I thought she might not be in agreement with them since she never agreed with them when they were planning."

"I do not know where she went but I think she is in good hands."

Kagome nodded.

"Now I will take you to meet your miko trainer Maya. I also have Kagura to teach you how to fight with the wind and Kanna to teach you some things. Then I know some demon called Jurinko who can teach you how to fight hand to hand and how fight with any small blade. I will teach you how to fight with a sword and some other things."

Kagome nodded and bowed her head.

"Thank you master."

"Just call me Naraku."

"Yes, Naraku."

He smirked and she kept her head bowed. Then he stood and motioned her to follow. She followed him closely as he walked down the halls. They finally reached a large door.

"Well your training begins." He grinned.

He swung the door open and Kagome stepped in to see a woman with long brown hair and violet eyes.

"I'm Maya. I will be your trainer in the miko arts for the next while." The woman grinned.

"Good luck little miko. Let us see how strong you can get. Let us see how long it takes you to master your powers."

Naraku swept out of the room chuckling. Kagome would be a great weapon.

. YEARS LATER.--.

Kagome sighed and sat down on a bench in the courtyard. She sighed happily as she looked up into the sunny sky. It had been four long years since she had joined Naraku. Most of the time had been spent training. She had gotten over the betrayal, and she had regained her emotions, feelings, and such, at least most of them. She had mastered her hate filled powered which still held the hate and pain and stayed black as a reminder of what she had felt. She had also learned to use the bow, dagger, knife, and sword expertly. She could use every kind of hand to hand combat too. She was fast, sneaky, and deadly, but beautiful. She was the perfect silent killer and an expert assassin. She was even stronger then Naraku now.

She had spent her time when not training by doing jobs for Naraku or being an assassin for hire. She killed for who ever needed someone disposed of. She refused some jobs but not most. She could now kill without even batting a lash. She sighed wistfully. She had also met some ninja on one such job. They had taken her in and trained her. They were a small village deep in a forest. They weren't even known about to those outside. She had wandered on them upon chance. They had agreed to train her when she had asked. She had stayed with them for six months. She had already known some of what they had to teach her; like how to control energy inside her called chakara. They had also taught her jutsus and such.

When she had returned to Naraku he hadn't been angry at her late arrival, only worried. Over the years their relation ship had gone from enemies, to vassal and master, to daughter and father. Yes, Naraku was like her father now. Her real father had died when she was young and she was glad Naraku was like her father. She had found out early on that Naraku was actually quite nice. They had only seen his bad side since they were enemies. But to those he cared about he was nice. He also was very intelligent, cunning, and strong.

She looked at the birds darting in and out of the trees. She sat in a beautiful courtyard that was filled with trees and gardens. Naraku she had learned kept his castle orderly. With her miko powers she had gotten seeds and made the gardens spring up to make the place nicer. She smiled. Naraku had even stopped his attacks on her old group and his search for the shards at her request. He had stayed with her at the castle. He had given Kagura her heart back, he had given Kanna her freedom, and he had given Kohaku his life back. Then he had given Kagome the jewel which was almost complete minus Koga's shards.

Kagura had stayed with them at the castle switching her loyalty to Kagome who had saved her. She did disappear into the wind sometimes but seemed loyal and a great deal happier. Kanna and Kohaku also stayed. Kanna stayed loyal to Kagome and Naraku. Kohaku knew about his sister's betrayal to Kagome and he said he was disappointed in her. He wanted to stay with Kagome till she confronted the group which would be soon. Well Kagome had had a very good time. The only things she had left to do were deal with her old group, find Kirara, talk to Koga about his shards, and see her brother.

Her real brother, she hadn't seen in a long time. Souta wasn't her real brother, just like her grandfather and mother weren't her real family. They had adopted her years ago when she had been fourteen. She hadn't seen her real family in a long time; ten years to be exact. She sighed. She would have to go visit her brother. Her mother and father were already dead and her brother had to miss her terribly. She scowled though as she thought of leaving the feudal era to do that. She would most likely be able to come back but she didn't want to leave here forever. She shrugged the thoughts off and looked to Naraku who was walking towards her. He smiled softly and she smiled back.

"Daughter, Kanna has shown me that your old group in near."

Kagome sighed. She stood.

"I will go deal with them."

"Will you take Kohaku with you?"

"Yes, and Kagura too."

Naraku nodded. Kohaku and Kagura walked up two seconds later. She smiled at the two and they smile back.

"We will go meet my old group now."

"Sesshomaru, Koga, and Kirara are with them." Naraku said abruptly.

Kagome nodded again. Kagura summoned her large feather and the three jumped on. They flew up into the sky with a wave to Naraku who smiled and waved back. They shot off towards the oncoming group. This was what they had been planning for years; this meeting.

Sesshomaru's POV:

I walked through the forest slowly. It had been almost four years since I had last seen my brother. I had given up on my search for Naraku. He wasn't worth my time and I didn't feel as obligated to kill him. He hadn't bothered me since then, so I didn't bother him. I had been busy anyways. I hadn't had time to hunt for him. The south and the North had had a war for the past four years and since I was between them some of the battle had made its way into my lands. I had been busy keeping the borders safe. The war had finally ended though and here I was traveling again. I had given up on getting the Tetsusaiga too. I didn't need the sword. I was powerful without it and I wouldn't be able to hold it if I found it. Besides some day Inuyasha would die. Then I could claim it. I shook the thoughts off. I smelled my brother up ahead. I had decided to check in on him since I wished to hear news of Naraku and how Inuyasha had been faring.

Rin skipped along behind me leading A-un. Rin was now a healthy fifteen year old woman who was like my daughter. She still wore an orange and white kimono and had some of her dark hair in a ponytail. Jaken followed beside her. He was the same as always. A-un just lumbered along the same too. I looked at them a moment then looked forwards and sniffed the air. My brother and his group had stopped. They had no doubt sensed and smelled me. One thing that interested me was I could not smell the miko from the well, but I could smell the dead miko.

I also could smell the neko and a wolf heading towards the group from the opposite direction as me at a fast speed. I once again shook these thoughts aside and stepped from the trees into a large field. My brother stood in front of the dead miko who was holding the kitsune. The slayer stood ready beside the monk. I just stood looking at them as they stood looking at me. Inuyasha glanced at the tornado coming towards us. It stopped to reveal the wolf clan leader and the small neko on his shoulder. The group's attention was diverted from me.

"There you are Kirara." The slayer hissed.

Her tone surprised me. I thought the neko was her loyal partner.

"I heard you tried to kill Kirara here." Koga said.

"She betrayed us." Sango hissed at him.

I blinked. Neko's were loyal by nature; it was unlike them to betray their masters without strong reason.

"I also heard you betrayed Kagome." The wolf growled menacingly.

My eyes widened slightly.

"So?" Inuyasha asked.

"Tell me the details, prince of the east." I said.

Everyone glanced at me.

"Ah, lord of the west." Koga greeted.

I nodded.

"These people betrayed Kagome. They wanted Kikyo alive. To get her alive they had to kill Kagome. They turned on her but she escaped. No one knows where she went."

"Kikyo is my mate." Inuyasha almost explained.

"Kikyo promised to heal my brother." The slayer said.

"Kikyo promised to be my mother." The fox said.

"Kikyo promised to heal my curse." The monk said.

"Yeah and Kirara here didn't like them turning on her. Kagome had been nothing but loyal, kind, giving, and caring and they turned on her. Kirara refused to help them kill Kagome." The wolf scowled at the group.

I even scowled slightly. I knew Inuyasha didn't have much honour but this was even low for him.

"So you know not where she is?" I asked.

"No." They all answered.

I blinked and looked up. I smelled the wind sorceress, the slayers brother, and a different but familiar smell. A large feather dropped to the side of us and everyone starred at the third person. It was a woman of about twenty-four. She had long raven black hair down to her waist and soft blue eyes. She had silky cream colored skin and a body that was perfect. She stood straight and carried herself elegantly. At her waist were a sword and a couple knives. She also had a pouch that seemed to be filled with some weapons at her waist. She wore a beautiful red fighting kimono that had black ravens scattered on it, and it was tied with a black obi. She looked everyone over.

"Kagome." Koga breathed a sigh of relief. "You are alive."

She gave him a stunning smile.

"Yes. I am alive and quite well."

"Why are you with Naraku's servants though?" He asked slowly.

"Oh, when Inuyasha and they betrayed me I joined Naraku."

There was absolute silence. '**Well that is quite surprising.**' My beast said suddenly. 'Very.' I replied.

"But Kagome. Naraku is evil." Koga said.

"No he's not." Kagome said slowly.

We all blinked at her.

"He is a wonderful man." She smiled.

"You say that because he gives you what ever you want for sleeping with him." Kikyo taunted.

Kagome's eyes hardened. She glared at Kikyo and Kikyo stepped back at the intensity of the glare.

"Don't talk of what you know nothing of. I have never lain with my father."

These words hit us all like a tone of bricks. Everyone gaped, even I.

"Father?" Sango stuttered.

"He adopted me as his daughter."

"Show me the mark." Koga and I said at the same time.

She rolled up her sleeve and we looked at the long, thin, pale scar. In demon tradition if a demon wanted to adopt anyone into his family he must do a ritual which involved sharing blood. You would cut your arm and mix your blood. The scar would remain as proof for the rest of their lives. And you could not adopt anyone who didn't want to be adopted. We all starred at it.

"How could you?" Koga asked wilting.

"Naraku is not evil." Kagome said softly. "Let me tell you. When they betrayed me he saved me. He gave me shelter, food, and training. He took me under his wing and asked almost nothing in return. Then he adopted me and showed me nothing but kindness for these last four years. He quit attacking you at my request and even settled down in his castle with Kanna, Kohaku, Kagura, me, and a few others. He is much nicer then Inuyasha and I trust him with all my heart."

There was silence. She had said the words sincerely and I knew she had not lied. I thought a moment. I had never seen Naraku's other side. We had only ever seen his battle side. Kagome had seen his true emotions though and she sounded like she was telling us the truth. She looked at us with soft emotion filled blue eyes. She seemed very happy. She had never been this happy with my brother even when Inuyasha treated her preciously. She was really happy with Naraku.

"He gave Kagura her heart back, he gave Kanna her freedom, and he gave Kohaku his memories and his life."

We all blinked. Kagura gave us a real smile and nodded happily. Then she walked to Koga. He watched her warily. When she was five feet in front of him she dropped to her knees and bowed with her forehead to the ground. All our eyes widened.

"I am truly sorry for killing your kin. Will you ever forgive me?"

Koga glanced at Kagome. She smiled reassuringly at him. He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I guess I can forgive you."

Kagura lifted her head and her eyes showed gratitude. Then she stood and walked to me. She bowed in the same position.

"I am sorry for attacking you and kidnapping Rin."

"I forgive you." I said.

I had never had a personal grudge against her. She looked up at me and blushed red as I met her eyes. I looked away from the stunning red eyes almost blushing too.

Author's POV:

Kagome grinned as she saw Sesshomaru and Kagura looked away almost blushing. Everyone starred.

"Wait... Kohaku got his memories back"' Sango asked slowly.

"Yes sister." Kohaku said evenly looking her in the eyes.

Tears welled up in her eyes. She stepped forwards. He shook his head and Sango looked confused.

"Sister I remember killing them. I know it was not my fault. I betrayed them but not on purpose. But you betrayed you sister like figure on purpose. I am disappointed in you. I can not return to a sister who betrays her best friends on purpose."

Sango looked to be in shock. She stumbled back and fell on her butt her mouth open and her eyes welling up again but not with tears of happiness. She started to sob.

"I did it to save you. All I wanted was for you to come back to me." She cried out.

"I know but there are some lines you don't cross." He whispered.

Kagome saw that it hurt him saying this. He looked away holding back his own tears. Kagome stepped up to Sango. Miroku almost started forwards afraid for Sango's safety but Kagome's look said keep back. Kagome kneeled by Sango who just continued to sob.

"He hates me."

"No he doesn't. It pains him to say this but he is a bit disgusted by your loyalties. He wanted to come back to you and he wanted you to save him but he didn't want you to do it at the cost of my life and Kirara's life."

"Really?" Sango asked looking at me.

"Yes." She said softly.

Kagome put her hand on her shoulder.

"I forgive you." Kagome whispered

Sango looked her in the eyes.

"I can't forgive myself. And we will never be as close as we were at first." Sango said.

"I know. We will never be friends but we can be neutral. I forgive your attempt to kill me. If it happens again I will not forgive you. There will be nothing of you left to forgive."

Sango nodded weakly. Kagome glanced at Kohaku who stepped forwards. Sango threw herself at him hugging him to death. Kagome stood and walked to Miroku. The two looked into one another's eyes. Kagome reached out with her miko powers and healed his wind tunnel. Naraku had taught her how to heal curses, along with how to curse someone. Miroku gripped his wrist and gasped. He pulled the prayer beads off and starred at his normal hand.

"I forgive you for now. I wish this had all turned out better but it didn't. Try to betray me again and I will kill you. We are in a neutral agreement."

He looked at Kagome and bowed his head. Then he rushed to Sango and her brother. Then Kagome walked to Inuyasha. The two starred at each other, their eyes glaring at one another.

"I can never forgive you since you had no strong reason to attack me."

She reached out with her powers again. He was blown back a couple feet by her power. He glared at her again. Then he felt his neck. On it was a black tattoo in the shape of a collar.

"That curse will make sure you cannot kill anyone who does not harm you. It will let you defend yourself but if the attacker is innocent you will not be able to kill them."

He growled at Kagome. She started chant and the rosary around his neck burst and flew to Kagome's hands. It reformed and Kagome tucked it in a pouch. Then she turned to Shippo and Kikyo. She looked at Shippo almost softly.

"I can not hate a child. I forgive you Shippo. Live long."

Then she looked up at Kikyo with hardened eyes. She threw miko power at her giving her the same curse as Inuyasha. Then she turned without saying a word. She walked to Koga who had watched silently. Kirara launched at her and cuddled into her neck. Kagome smiled and stroked the neko. She looked up at Koga.

"Koga I do not wish to be your mate."

He wilted.

"I know. I will always love you though if you want me."

Kagome shook her head. Then she once again reached out with her miko powers. Koga blinked at the jewel shards pulled from his legs and returned to Kagome's hand.

"You took the jewels but I still feel as strong." He said.

"I gave you a spell that will make you as fast as you were with the jewels and as strong as you were."

"Thank you." He breathed.

Kagome smiled at him. She looked back. Shippo was with Sango. Kikyo and Inuyasha had vanished. Miroku, Kohaku, Sango, and Shippo were all talking. Sesshomaru, Kagura, and his group just watched. Suddenly Koga grabbed her hand. He did a bow and kissed her hand.

"Bye Kagome."

"Goodbye Koga."

He turned and in a burst of wind was running off. Kagome walked to Sesshomaru.

"Well what can I say?"

He blinked.

"Take good care of Kagura. She is a dear friend of mine."

Sesshomaru blushed faintly and Kagura turned bright red. Rin giggled and Jaken scowled while A-un snorted.

"I hope you all live happily." Kagome said.

"Will you be leaving?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Yes. I may be gone for a long time. Can I get a promise form you?"

The lord looked at her.

"What promise?"

"Can you promise me you won't kill Naraku?"

"Yes. I promise I will not harm him or kill him."

"Thank you lord Sesshomaru."

He nodded. Then Kagura stepped forwards. She pulled a fan from her kimono.

"I promised to give you one."

Kagome smiled as Kagura handed her the fan along with one of her feathers.

"Bye Kagura."

"Good bye. Tell Kanna bye for me."

"I will."

Sesshomaru rested a hand on Kagura's shoulder. She blushed. His hand slid down to her hand and grasped it. He pulled her close and a cloud formed under his feet. The two lifted up. Rin and Jaken scrambled onto A-un who leapt into the sky after the two. Kagome smiled as she watched them fly away. She looked at the others. They glanced at her.

"Good bye."

They all opened their mouths then snapped them shut. Kohaku suddenly stood and walked up to her. He handed her his sickle on the chain.

"I can always get another."

Kagome smiled and bowed her head. Kohaku bowed back. Kagome pulled Kagura's fan free. She tossed it into the air and enlarged it with the technique Kagura had taught her. She leapt onto the feather with Kirara still on her shoulder. Suddenly a staff came shooting up. She grabbed Miroku's staff.

"I want you to have it." He yelled.

Kagome grinned. Suddenly a small blade like thing followed. It had a clamp like thing with a spring released blade attached. She glanced down at Sango.

"It attaches to your wrist and is unnoticeable under clothing. The blade pops up if need."

Kagome waved and then shot into the sky.

Kagome's POV:

I returned to Naraku's castle and slipped through the barrier. I found Naraku and Kanna waiting in the courtyard with my bags.

"You said you would be leaving." Naraku explained.

"Yes I will be father."

He sighed.

"Kohaku is back with his sister. Koga, Sesshomaru, Sango, Shippo, and Miroku have made neutral agreements with me. Kagura is off to marry Sesshomaru too."

Kanna and Naraku chuckled and grinned at the last part.

"Oh and I don't know where Inuyasha and Kikyo went but I cast curses on them to keep them from killing innocent people and people who didn't give them reason to attack."

Naraku nodded. Kanna held out her small white mirror. I smiled and took it. I slid it into one of my bags. I slipped Sango's present onto my arm under my sleeve. I slid the feather into my hair, the fan into my obi, and I set my staff and the sickle by my bags. Then I grabbed Koga's shards and the almost complete jewel. I merged it and in a flash of pink I had the whole jewel. I hung it around my neck again. Then I hugged Naraku hard and he hugged me back.

"I will come back and visit sometime."

"I know." He said.

"Lady Kagome may I come with you?" Kanna's ghostly voice asked.

We both glanced at her. I shrugged and she smiled. Then I reached for my bags. I pulled one onto my back and strapped my weapons to it. Then I grabbed my other bag and held it under my arm. I noticed Kanna already had a small white pack on her back. Kirara, who was still on my shoulder cuddled up to me. Naraku smiled and I summoned the large feather again. We both hoped on.

"Get some more friends." I yelled to Naraku as we lifted into the sky.

He nodded and waved. Just before we left the barrier I sent the last of my miko powers at him in the form of a spell at Naraku. It would protect him. Then the barrier opened and Kanna and I slipped out.

.--.

We flew for hours till we reached the old well. Most thought it only led to here or my time. But it led to another time too. It led to my real world. I had jumped down it at twelve when I had been running from an enemy. I hadn't been able to get back. I knew the well would let me through now though. I stuck the feather back in my hair and walked to the well. Kanna followed close behind. I stepped onto the rim. Then I grabbed Kanna's arm dragging her in. We immediately were surrounded by a violet light. It felt like falling through water. We touched down finally on a soft dirt floor. I grabbed Kanna and pumped chakara to my feet letting me jump from the well. I looked around. Even though it had been ten years I recognized the clearing. Konoha should be about half a mile away.

I threw a barrier around Kirara making her look like a normal cat and motioned Kanna to follow. She first pulled a second mirror from her bag. She had once told me she didn't feel safe without her 'weapon'. This mirror was different from the mirror she had given me. This one was still white but had silver lilies on it like in her hair. She walked beside me in silence as we walked through the trees. We eventually fell onto a dirt road. As we walked we did it in silence. After a few minutes large walls came into sight. I smiled happily as I saw my old home. As we drew closer I saw the guards watching us. When we stopped inside the gate they looked at us.

"Papers." One said.

"I'm sorry I lost my papers. But Sarutobi should recognize me. I am returning from a ten year mission."

They almost winced. I watched them.

"Our Hokage Sarutobi is dead."

My eyes widened.

"Our new Hokage is Tsunade."

My eyes widened again.

"She knows me also." I replied sighing.

They both looked at me then at one another.

"I will escort you to her." One said.

I knew it was a polite way of saying I'm keeping an eye on you. I nodded. He walked off towards the Hokage tower. Kanna and I followed. We looked around the busy streets as we walked down them. When we reached the tower he led us to an office. He knocked and a voice I recognized told us to enter. We stepped into see a young blonde looking woman looking extremely bored while stamping papers. She looked up at us.

"Yes?" She asked.

"This woman has no papers but said Sarutobi would recognize her."

"She must have not hear door been away a long time." Tsunade yawned.

"I have been." I grinned.

She blinked and squinted at me.

"Do you not recognize me Tsunade?" I asked.

She still looked at me. I gave her one of my award winning smiles and laughed. Her eyes widened.

"Only one person I ever knew could smile like that." She whispered.

I grinned again.

"Kagome?" She asked softly.

"How are you Tsunade?"

In a second she was beside me and I heard bones pop as she squeezed me in a hug. The guard had left and shut the door behind him.

"Kagome. I was so worried. When the enemy attacked you fell down the well and I never saw you again."

I had fallen down the well when enemy had attacked at age fourteen. Tsunade had been trying to guard me but we had been pushed into the trees by the well. I had lost balance and fallen in. She was the last person I had seen.

"What happened?" She asked.

"When I fell in the well I was transported to another dimension."

Her eyes widened.

"Well, a lady with a son and father adopted me. I lived with them on a shrine for years."

"Well I'm glad you're back."

"The well wouldn't let me back through until just today."

Tsunade finally let me go and I healed myself with out her noticing. She looked me up and down.

"Well you have grown into a beautiful woman."

"You too." I grinned.

"Have you been getting stronger?" She asked.

"Yes. I can use various weapons and I know a lot of jutsus. I practice a lot."

"Good, that mean's you can be a Konoha ninja."

I nodded.

"And who is this?" She asked looking at Kanna.

"This is my friend Kanna. She came with me from the other side of the well. She has some good strong powers. And this is my friend Kirara."

Kirara mewed and popped out from my hair. Tsunade nodded. Then she grinned. She went to her desk and rummaged through it. She grabbed a set of keys and tossed them to me.

"I never sold your guy's old house."

I grinned.

"Well that's nice to know."

She nodded.

"Why don't you go settle in and I'm sure you would love to see your brother."

I nodded savagely. Then I frowned.

"How has he been treated?" I asked.

She sighed.

"He was never accepted. Now he is accepted a little with in his group and with some friends, but others still hate him."

I nodded. Then Tsunade tossed me a black leaf symbol head band. I tied it around my neck so it hid the Shikon No Tama. She smiled at me. She also gave me my brother's current address.

"We'll talk later over sake but Shizune will kill me if I don't do some of this work. I'll come to your place later for dinner."

I grinned and nodded. Then Kanna and I turned and walked from the room. We headed down the streets towards my families manor. We walked out of the busy part of town to a section that had large beautiful homes. I saw a couple new ones. I stopped at a large empty looking one. It was like a mansion. The gardens in front looked neglected. As we walked up the path I let my miko powers go. The weeds vanished and the flowers grew, the trees all straightened and looked healthier.

When we reached the door everything looked nicer. I unlocked the door and we stepped in. I let more miko powers go and turned the lights on while blowing the dust from the house. All the furniture was covered with large white sheets. I showed Kanna to a spare room and she set her bags down. Then I set my bags in my old room. Then the two of us started to grab all the white sheets tiding the place up. After three we finished with the help of my miko powers. Then I asked if Kanna could stay here for a while. I asked Kirara the same thing. They nodded and I skipped out the door. I headed down the street. I headed for brother's apartment. I jumped to his balcony and peered in. I frowned as I didn't see him. I then hoped to the roof and jogged off towards the training grounds.

As I neared I saw three people sitting in a grassy field. One was a man with silver hair bent at an odd angle and a mask coving most of his face. He was reading a small orange book. The second person was a girl with bright pink hair and green eyes. The third was a boy with black spiky hair and dark eyes. Last was a boy with blonde hair, and an orange and black outfit. I grinned and started to sneak up to them.

Author's POV:

Kakashi read his Come Come paradise, as his three students talked. They were having their lunch break and chatting. They all talked away as Kakashi watched them from the corner of his eyes.

"Say that again teme!" Naruto yelled jumping up and glaring at Sasuke.

"I said you are a moron."

"That's it!"

Naruto lunged for him but Sakura grabbed him and held him back. Kakashi had to admit the super human strength she had got from Tsunade was useful. Sakura scowled.

"Oh shut up both of you." She growled.

Naruto scowled and stepped back pouting. Sakura and Sasuke rolled their eyes and turned away from the immature blonde. Suddenly a woman dropped down from the tree. She was right behind Naruto. Kakashi started to warn him but before he could the woman's hands went for Naruto. Sakura and Sasuke were talking and weren't facing Naruto. Kakashi was impressed as well as startled. The woman had got up to use before He had sensed her. And she didn't make a sound. Kakahsi was still getting to his feet. He stopped though, as her hands covered his eyes and she smiled. Sasuke and Sakura heard Naruto yelp.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled.

Sakura and Sasuke spun, weapons out.

.--.

Naruto growled.

"Guess who Naruto." A woman said.

Naruto scowled. He didn't recognize the voice off the top of his head though it sounded familiar.

.--.

Kakashi stood ready in case he needed to save his student. Sakura and Sasuke stood ready to save their team mate too, but none thought this woman was threat. They had now noticed her headband. 'I don't recognize her.' They all thought. 'She's quite pretty though.' Sasuke and Kakashi thought also.

"I don't know who it is." Naruto sighed.

The hands moved and he turned to gap at the prettiest woman he had ever seen… besides Hinata. She had long silky black hair and cobalt blue eyes and a beautiful body. She wore a fighting kimono and her eyes were alight. He starred at her. Suddenly a smile covered her face. His eyes widened. He had only seen one person who had a smile like that at him.

"So you know her dobe?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto didn't answer as he stood in shock. The woman grinned. Naruto stumbled back and his team mates watched as his face screamed shock.

"Y-you can-can't be h-her." He stuttered.

His team-mates had never seen him this shocked.

"It is me." The woman said softly.

Before anyone could blink Naruto was hugging the woman sobbing. Now the other three starred at him in shock as the woman rocked back and forth with Naruto trying to sooth him. They all had to wait ten minutes for Naruto to calm down. Then he sniffed and wiped his tear stained face.

"I have never seen Naruto cry like that." Sakura whispered.

"You have gotten so big and strong Naruto. You almost crushed me with that hugs. What are you sixteen?" The woman asked.

Naruto puffed out his chest.

"I'm eighteen and I'm the strongest ninja on my team. And I'm going to be the next Hokage!"

His team-mates rolled their eyes.

"Still hung up with that goal? Well maybe you will succeed." The woman smiled.

"So who are you?" Sasuke asked. "And why do you wear a leaf head band? You can't be a ninja. You seem too weak."

The woman scowled at Sasuke.

"DON'T CALL MY SISTER WEAK, TEME!" Naruto yelled at Sasuke.

There was absolute silence. No one moved or even breathed.

"Your sister?" Kakashi finally choked out.

"Yeah. Meet Uzumaki Kagome, my older sister." Naruto grinned. "This is Kakashi my sensei he's a pervert. Sakura my friend and team-mate, she's a medic with superhuman strength. And Sasuke. He's a teme."

Kagome smiled, nodded, and bowed her head.

"Nice to meet you."

They all hastily bowed their head back.

"Why haven't we seen you around?" Kakashi asked.

"There was an incident. I wasn't able to return for a while." Kagome said. "Oh! And Naruto we are moving back to our manor."

"Alright! I didn't stay there because it was so lonely without you." Naruto said.

"Oh and you Hokage Tsunade is coming for dinner."

"What Baa-chan is coming for dinner?" Naruto asked.

He got a bump on the head as Kagome's fist connected with his skull.

"Don't call her that! She is a respected figure and you should show her respect." Kagome growled.

"But Kagome-" Naruto whined.

"You know Tsunade?" Kakashi interrupted.

"I have known her all my life." Kagome said.

They all starred at her and Naruto rubbed his bump.

"You may join us for dinner if you like." Kagome said to the three.

"Sure." Sakura grinned.

Sakura got the feeling they would be great friends.

"Nh." Sasuke said stuffing his hands in his pockets.

He still couldn't believe someone this polite, kind, and beautiful was the dobe's sister.

"Why not." Kakashi said.

Kagome smiled at him. No one saw the blush under his mask.

"Well good. Be there by 6 o'clock sharp." She sang.

"What will you do till then?" Naruto asked. "Cause you aren't going anywhere without me."

"Going to cling to your big sister, dobe?" Sasuke taunted.

"I haven't seen her in ten years. So yes I'm going to cling to her, teme."

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Oh! And Naruto we have a friend of mine staying with us."

Naruto blinked at Kagome and tilted his head.

"Who?" Naruto asked.

"Her name is Kanna. She came back with me. I also have a pet cat named Kirara."

"Back from where?" All four asked.

Then the three looked at Naruto.

"You don't know where she went?" Kakashi asked.

"No one did. Tsunade was the last one to see here and she wouldn't say anything." Naruto said shaking his head.

"Well I went away for a while. I may tell you where later." Kagome said calmly.

They all watched her blank face a minute.

"So what ninja techniques are you good at?" Sakura interrupted.

"Well I have good medic abilities. I know almost every kind of taijutsu and I am very good at genjutsus. I know a large variety of ninjutsu too. Oh and I can use some weapons."

They looked at her wondering how good she was at each of those. Suddenly Kagome yawned.

"Tired? It's only early afternoon." Naruto said.

"I know but I had a couple 'fights' this morning and I used a lot of my power." Kagome muttered.

Naruto blinked and slowly nodded.

"Oh! I need to go get some things like groceries and stuff. And we have to move the stuff from your apartment to our place." Kagome jumped.

Naruto nodded.

"We should do that now." She said.

"I'll help." Sakura chirped.

Kagome smiled at her warmly.

"I can help too. We do need to know where your house is so we can help and get directions." Kakashi said.

Sasuke shrugged.

"Well I'm going to go get groceries first." Kagome said.

"Do you have any money?" Naruto asked concerned.

"Yeah. I brought back some with me form where I stayed for the past few years. Luckily they use the same currency here."

Naruto nodded. Then he pulled something from Kagome's obi. He examined the fan which he snapped open. They all looked at it a minute. It seemed to be made out of sharp metal and fine silk. The silk had a dragon on it to. Naruto was gaping at it.

"What is this? It weights a ton."

"May I see?" Sakura asked.

Kagome nodded.

"Be careful though." She said.

Sakura took it gently and her eyes widened to. She passed it to Sasuke and Kakashi getting the same reactions.

"What do you use it for?" Kakashi asked.

"I fight with it." Kagome said.

"Fight with it?" Sasuke asked.

Kagome nodded. She took it gently and grabbed a stick from the ground. She tossed the large stick up high. Naruto smartly stepped back. As soon as the stick was eyelevel Kagome spun very quickly almost a blur. Suddenly she stopped and snapped the fan closed. The stick hit the ground.

"You didn't do any-" Naruto started.

They all gaped as the stick turned into tiny pieces. They starred a moment.

"The fan is made of sharp metal that acts like knives. I use it for other things too."

They all looked at her. They had just learned she was fast and deadly with a weapon. She smiled as she slipped the fan back into her obi.

"Well let's go Naruto."

He nodded.

"So are you guys coming?" Naruto asked.

The other three nodded and they set off down the path out of the training grounds.

"How about Kagome and I go get the groceries and Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto go get Naruto's stuff." Sakura suggested.

They all nodded.

"We'll meet in front of the academy." Kagome said.

Everyone in the group spilt intro two groups and walked off.

Sakura followed beside Kagome as she examined her. Kagome seemed really nice but Sakura could tell she was strong. She was really pretty too. Sakura was a bit envious. But she was happy for Naruto too. He had someone for him now; a family member who would look after him. Sakura smiled. He already had Hinata as his girlfriend and that made him happy but having actual family was different. She shook the thoughts off as they both turned into the grocery store. As soon as they stepped in Kagome smiled at Sakura.

"So you are Naruto's team mate?"

She nodded.

"How is he? Is he stronger?"

Sakura smiled and they started to talk about Naruto. It seemed to make Kagome happy so Sakura told her all about their missions together and such. They shopped as they talked. Sakura grinned as she noticed Kagome grabbed a lot of ramen.

"You like ramen?" Sakura asked

"Yes. And I know Naruto loves it."

Sakura nodded savagely. She helped Kagome grab some more groceries before they went to the till. When they had gotten everything they walked out the door with their bags.

"The others will probably take longer." Sakura said.

"Yeah, what do we do till then?"

"We could go to another store or something."

"Do you know where a flower shop is?" Kagome asked suddenly.

Sakura grinned.

"My friend works at one."

Kagome smiled and they set off down the road. They saw the flower shop as they came into view. They walked in as a bell rang over their heads.

"Hi, Can I help….Oh it's just you forehead." Ino said.

"Hey Ino-pig."

"Friends?" Kagome asked Sakura softly.

Sakura grinned.

"Best friends and rivals."

Kagome snorted softly.

"Who's your friend?" Ino asked.

"This is Kagome. Kagome this is Ino-pig."

"Hello Ino." Kagome said bowing her head.

"Hello Kagome. Are you a new Konoha ninja?"

"Yes. I just arrived today."

Ino smiled.

"So why are you here forehead?" She asked.

"Kagome wanted to look at you plants." Sakura said

Ino nodded. Kagome looked around. She bought a couple seeds and a large bouquet of flowers for decoration. Then she paid Ino and Sakura and she walked off to the academy. All the students were back in the school since it was after lunch break. Kagome looked at the plants as Sakura just closed her eyes and leaned back.

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto all walked to Naruto's apartment while chatting or in Kakashi's case, reading. When they entered Naruto's apartment they starred.

"Is it always this messy?" Kakashi asked.

"Yup." Naruto chirped.

The two sighed as Naruto started to throw all his stuff in boxes and bags. They talked the whole time. When they finally finished they all looked around. Naruto had to jog off and tell his landlord he was moving. Then they all grabbed the stuff and trudged from the apartment. They had only walked out the door when they almost ran into Shikamaru. He blinked at the boxes.

"Moving?" He asked in a bored tone.

"Yup!" Naruto grinned.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered.

Then Naruto tripped. He hit the ground still holding three boxes. Kakashi and Sasuke sighed. Shikamaru caught two boxes and waited for Naruto to stand.

"I told you, you should just make a second trip." Kakashi sighed.

"But I want to hurry!" Naruto whined.

"I guess I could help…Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled.

Naruto grinned and the four set off with Naruto quickly taking the lead. As soon as they entered the academy yard Naruto started to wave wildly to the two girls on the bench. They didn't notice that Shikamaru had frozen in his tracks till Kagome stood and walked over to them. They looked back to see Shikamaru starring at Kagome.

"Kagome?" He whispered.

"Shikamaru!" She squealed.

She launched at him. He dropped the boxes and caught her as she hugged him, leaving the other four starring.

"You know him?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. When we were little I used to watch the clouds with him." Kagome giggled.

"You watched the clouds with him?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah. I hanged out with him when Naruto was busy."

"How old are you?" Sakura asked.

"I'm twenty four. Six years difference but we still got along." Kagome said.

"Where were you all these years?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm explaining at dinner tonight. Want to come?"

Shikamaru nodded muttering troublesome.

"So how are your parents?" Kagome asked.

"You know his parents?" Sakura asked.

"She used to play shougi with my father on a regular basis. She was quite good at it to."

"So you were really smart at a young age?" Sasuke asked.

"Yup." Kagome smiled.

They nodded slowly.

"Well we better get going. Kanna is still waiting." Kagome said.

"Kanna?" Shikamaru asked.

"Friend I brought with me." Kagome said.

She finally let go of him and scooped up her bags. Everyone grabbed their things and they walked off chatting. As they got nearer to Naruto and Kagome's house they quieted. When they turned on to their path the others stopped and gaped. Naruto and Kagome waited for them at the door.

"You live in a mansion?" Sakura choked out.

"Why didn't you stay here?" Kakashi asked Naruto.

"It was too big and lonely without Kagome." Naruto sighed.

They then quickly walked in the door the others trailing. Naruto set all his stuff in his room and Kagome set all the groceries in the kitchen. Everyone sat down at the island in the kitchen and Kagome started to put the groceries away.

"So Shikamaru will you be staying for dinner."

"I guess." He said.

Kagome grinned. Suddenly a cat bounded up to Kagome and leapt her shoulder.

"Kirara." She said to everyone.

They all nodded.

"Lady Kagome, welcome back." Said a ghostly voice.

Naruto jumped three feet in the air as the voice came from beside him. Everyone spun, except Kagome, and starred at the small teen with white hair and black eyes. The teen held a white mirror and wore a white kimono with lilies in her hair. She starred at Kagome with empty eyes.

"This is Kanna." Kagome said.

"Oh! Hello Kanna. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I'm Kagome's brother." Naruto grinned.

"Hello Naruto." Kanna nodded.

"Hi, my name is Sakura." Sakura said cheerfully.

"I'm Shikamaru."

"I'm Kakashi and this is Sasuke."

"Hello Kakashi, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Sakura." Kanna bowed her head.

"Kanna have you been lonely?" Kagome asked.

"No. I like the gardens and birds." She said.

"Good."

Kagome dropped her large bouquet of flowers into a vase and stuck it on the table.

"What did you do lady Kagome?"

"I just went and got my brother and his stuff." Kagome smiled.

Kanna nodded. Then she walked to an empty seat. She scrambled up and sat watching everyone and still holding her mirror.

"Why do you carry a mirror?" Kakashi asked.

"I'll tell you later." Kagome interrupted.

"I will not tell what you do not wish me to Lady Kagome." Kanna bowed.

"She doesn't seem like a friend, but more like a servant." Sakura said. "And why does she call you lady?"

"Later." Kagome sang.


	27. Fallen Angel : Naruto

Sakura couldn't help but laugh manically. She just stood in the middle of the clearing, in the middle of a forest laughing till her sides hurt. She finally wiped the tears from her eyes and straightened. The people surrounding her looked at her like she was insane. She probably was to an extent.

"Okay please repeat that." She giggled.

"You are under arrest for killing an ANBU squad from your own village, Konoha. Surrender and we will not be forced to hurt you." One of the people said.

Sakura giggled again.

"What do you find so funny about that Haruno." A coffee haired boy asked.

"The part about you being forced to hurt me." She giggled.

"If you do not surrender we will." A kid with a bowl cut in a green jumpsuit said.

"As if any of you could hurt me." She snickered.

The people surrounding her blinked. There were eleven of them Tenten, Lee, Neji, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, Jiraya, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke. They all looked sad. Of course they wouldn't be happy when they were ordered to track down and capture their former team-mate Haruno Sakura at all costs. Naruto looked to be on the verge of tears.

"What makes you think we can't hurt you?" Kakashi asked.

"Many reasons." Sakura said offhandedly.

"Sakura please don't make us fight you." Kakashi said.

Sakura just sighed.

"Kakashi, please stop fucking asking me that. I am not going back to bloody Konoha." Sakura said.

Most of the ninja seemed surprised to hear her swear. Sakura just shifted her weight in a bored manner. She looked over the ninja who seemed tense. None of them, she knew, would attack her all out. No, they would never want to hurt their little Sakura blossom. They wouldn't be here but they had been ordered to after Sakura had run away from Konoha. No, Sakura didn't like to think of it as running away, more of just leaving.

"Why did you kill that ANBU squad on guard and run away?" Jiraya asked coolly.

"Well I wanted to leave and they wouldn't let me so I killed them." Sakura said blowing a piece of hair from her face and crossing her arms.

It was getting a bit annoying answering their questions.

"Why did you want to leave?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Because Konoha doesn't suit me anymore. It's so weak and pathetic." She sneered.

Most flinched at her words.

"But I'm glad you chased after me."

They all blinked in confusion. Sakura smirked.

"Now I can get my pet back."

They all blinked. Then their guard went up as she vanished. They heard a squeak and next thing they knew Sakura had Naruto by the throat. She slammed him into the tree behind him. He gasped and his hands clamped to the one of hers over his throat. They all gaped as she pulled out a kuni and cut his shirt off. No one moved as she traced the nine-tailed fox seal on Naruto's stomach. Suddenly the seal glowed red and Sakura smirked. Jiraya realized to late what the girl was doing. He cried out and launched forwards but just at that second Naruto let out an ear-shattering scream and a red glow covered them.

Everyone blinked the light away. When they looked back at the two they all stumbled back in fear. Naruto was lying slumped against the tree barely conscious. And Sakura stood facing them a feral grin on her face. Beside Sakura stood the nine tailed fox, only about the size of a Great Dane. He wore a grin matching Sakura's.

"How? Why?" Jiraya strangled out

"Kyuubi here is my friend. I summoned him here and was the one who made the technique to seal him so it is only natural I could break the seal." Sakura smirked.

"You were the one who summoned him? That's impossible. You were just born when he attacked." Jiraya stuttered.

"Wrong. But I see no reason to tell you my story, so I'll leave you with that."

Everyone was just starring wide eyed at the fox and Sakura. The fox let a growl escape with a spike of power and everyone stumbled back. Sakura sneered than suddenly the fox seed to grow to the size of a horse. Sakura swung up onto his back and gripped his fur. Sakura sat, looking emotionless as she let her eyes scan the ninja. Her eyes rested lastly on Hinata. All the other's eyes showed horror, fear, and surprise. But Hinata's showed sorrow.

"You will miss me." Sakura stated.

The girl gave a curt nod. Sakura couldn't blame her. Hinata had been her best friend, even before Ino. And Sakura had always been Hinata's only friend.

"Will you come with me?" Sakura asked.

Hinata's eyes lit with surprise. Sakura held out a hand and a chance. Hinata took a step forwards. The others seemed to see what was about to happen.

"No Hinata!" Neji yelled trying to grab his cousin.

But it was too late. Hinata leapt forwards and grabbed Sakura's hand. Sakura pulled the girl up behind her. Neji leapt forwards but the fox let out a rumbling laugh and crouched before jumping into the sky. Hinata wrapped her arms tightly around Sakura's waist. The fox's feet suddenly became surrounded by flames and he stopped in mid-air. He let out a howl and jumped up higher into the sky, out of sight of human eyes. Once high enough he started to run as if on an invisible road. Hinata looked back down once and then sighed softly. Sakura just smirked as the fox kept running.

When it started to get late the fox dived from the sky earning a laugh from Sakura and a half scream from Hinata. As they touched the ground the two girls slid off of the fox. The fox shook and suddenly started to shrink. Once he was the size of a house cat he leapt to Hinata's shoulders and curled around her neck. Hinata smiled and slumped to the ground, already asleep. Sakura just looked at her and the fox. Sakura sighed and sat down cross legged. She didn't even bother to light a fire as she fell into her memories.

-

She was nineteen in human years. She had a full grown body, long silky pink hair, green glowing eyes, and creamy porcelain skin. She had been busy for the last eight years since Sasuke had left her on that bench in the park. She had firstly trained with Tsunade learning medic skills, and inhuman strength. Then she had trained with Jiraya a couple years learning the rasengan and some other techniques. Then finally she had trained with Orochimaru. Sasuke had returned to them when Sakura had been fifteen. That was around the time Sakura had faked her disappearance and went to Orochimaru.

She had trained with him for two years. Then she had returned to her village acting as if she had escaped her kidnapper. Everyone had been overjoyed to see her. She had then trained with numerous people including Gai and Lee, Anko, Ibiki, and most of the rookie nine. It had been … illuminating. Finally when she had turned nineteen she had decided it was time to leave her village. Of course the guards had tried to stop her and she had ended up killing the ANBU squad. Then she had hurried off to be found three days later by the group she had just talked with.

-

Sakura shook herself from those memories and leaned against a tree. She easily slipped into dream land.

--

Sakura woke slowly to the rising sun. She stood up and stretched feeling rested. Sakura whistled softly and Kyuubi perked his ears up. He opened his eyes and slipped from Hinata's neck not even waking her. He yawned and stretched. Then he turned larger, a little smaller then a pony. Sakura picked Hinata up and set her on the fox's back. They walked off into the trees neither making a sound. After about an hour Hinata woke. They travelled on talking softly till about dinner.

Sakura, Hinata, and the Kyuubi stopped in the middle of a large meadow in the middle of the forest. Sakura sighed and rubbed her temples as six Akatsuki members stepped from the trees. Sakura recognized Kakuzu, Hidan, Sasori, Deidara, Kisame, and Itachi. She smiled at Sasori. She had fought him years ago, and had acted as if she had killed him. She guessed he had many questions to why she had helped him fake his death so he could escape once Chiyo and her had left. He squinted at her slightly and she let the smile turn to a sneer. Hinata gulped and looked to Sakura for a sign. She just pushed the violet eyed girl into the Kyuubi who wrapped some of his tails around her protectively.

"So why are two kunoichi travelling with a miniature version of the Kyuubi?" Itachi asked calmly.

"Is it any of your business?" Sakura asked.

"Considering the Kyuubi is my bijuu." He said.

"Ah but you see you will not be sealing this demon again." Sakura smirked.

"Why not?" Kisame growled.

"Because I will not let you separate me from my pet." Sakura said.

"Pet?" Kakuzu asked.

"Yes, I summoned him so he is my pet."

They all starred at her.

"You summoned him, un?" Deidara asked in disbelief.

Sakura just smirked.

"But you know Itachi, I can have a talk with you boss about it, so you don't get in trouble for not catching the Kyuubi." Sakura said.

They all stilled none moving. There was a silence.

"We will take you to him." Sasori said.

Sakura smirked and Hinata just looked to Sakura. She looked to Hinata.

"Don't worry." She said.

The Akatsuki all slowly looked at one another. Deidara threw down a clay bird which immediately enlarged. Sasori and he jumped onto it and lifted into the sky and the others jumped into the trees getting ready to go. Sakura looked to the Kyuubi who enlarged again. She and Hinata hopped on and took off into the sky beside Deidara and Sasori who were starring.

- Meant to have Sakura as an immortal fallen angel set on causing chaos.

- She was able to summon the nine bijuu.

- She was teh oen who set tehm loose in the world.

- She would seduce Itachi making it SakuXIta, and SasoXHina as a side one.


	28. Pure to Tainted Part 1 : Crossover

Kagome's POV:

I was in the entrance of my house. I was crouched down with my hands on my head. Tears poured down freely, along with my blood. I was surprised and a bit shocked. I had just jumped back from the well. I had completed the Shikon No Tama. Miroku had proposed to Sango, Kohaku had died but she had seemed okay, and Shippo had found a family of Kitsunes that would adopt him. Kikyo had died but almost no one mourned. It was almost perfect till a couple hours ago.

~~FLASHBACK~~

The night after we destroyed Naraku I was coming back from the springs. I entered Kaede's hut to the sight of blood. Sango, Miroku, Kaede, Shippo, and Kirara lay spread out, torn in half or decapitated. Their blood was every where. It had stained my black shoes. I starred at the scene shocked. Then I heard a laugh behind me. I slowly turned to see Inuyasha. He was drenched in blood. I thought for a moment he had transformed. Then I saw Tetsiaga in his hands and clear amber eyes. He laughed again.

"You didn't think I really liked you guys did you? It was all an act." He said laughing.

I scowled. He looked over his sword.

"It won't transform anymore but it doesn't mater since I will soon have the power of the Shikon No Tama. Kagome, do you prefer to be killed by the sword you pulled free for me or by the claws that killed your friends."

Some tears still streamed down my face.

"Shippo was a child! You killed them when their backs were turned and their weapons out of reach! They were defenceless!" I yelled at him. "You are more dishonourable then a dog!"

He laughed. My little sorrow was replaced by blind rage. I had known he would betray us in the end but I hadn't thought he would be this dishonourable. He hadn't even given them a warrior's death. He had just slaughtered them. I had been distancing myself from them for the past year because I knew I would have to leave so their deaths weren't that bad. They had just become companions that I respected. The way they died annoyed me. They had all been honourable warriors but they had died as common people.

It had been three years since I had joined them. Three long years of tireless hunting. We had made friends. We had got the jewel. We had killed Naraku. We had become family then we had become distant and only companions. Now the people I respected the most lay on the floor dead. Torn apart by the claws of my old love. Over the years I had trained. I had learned the dagger, knife, and hand to hand combat. I had mastered my miko powers. I had also mastered the bow.

And once a year ago I had run off for a while. I had gone to a ninja village and learned how to jump higher, run farther, and control my energy which they referred to as chakra. I had always thought ninja were superhuman who new fancy moves. But the ninja of this time were just a little better then normal people. They were skilled fighters that trained long and hard and used ordinary weapons. I had trained with them and learned. I had used my knowledge to defend myself and help kill demons. Well I lunged at him. I didn't see anything but him. He seemed a bit surprised by how fast I moved but he did dodge, while raking me with his claws. I gasped and doubled over. Then he did something I wish to forget. Finally he stood a little distance from me.

"Oh Kagome, poor, poor Kagome, you were always so weak."

That did it. The last clamp holding my control and restraint snapped. I snarled. Almost all my miko unleashed unconsciously. Inuyasha screamed once before he was purified past hell. The whole village was completely purified. I stood clutching my wound and gasping. I wasn't completely drained but quite close to it but I guessed nothing evil would ever be able to set foot on this land. Ever. I saw Tetsiaga lying on the ground. It pulsed and a white spirit appeared from it. I saw a man that looked like Inuyasha and Sesshomaru. He had a sad look on his face.

"I am terribly sorry. I didn't think my son would do something like that. I am sorry."

His voice sounded distant. I knew it was Inutaisho.

"I knew he would do this but just not in such a dishonourable way." I said.

He winced. It was an insult saying I knew he was low enough to betray me.

"Please give this sword to Sesshomaru. He should have had it to begin with. He is actually heading this way now."

I nodded. He rested a hand on my shoulder. I couldn't feel it and it wasn't really there but it was still comforting.

"You have had a hard life with no rewards. I'm truly sorry."

"I do not regret my life. I just regret not doing some things earlier."

The man nodded. Then he smiled once and faded. I was still crying. I wiped the tears away and walked into Kaede's hut. I saw the bodies again. I summoned the last of my miko powers which wasn't very much and shrunk Miroku's staff, Sango's boomerang, Kohaku's scythe and chain 9which was with Sango's stuff), Shippo's top, and Kaede's bow. I didn't really know I could I just unleashed the small amount of energy on them. They some how shrunk and mixed with the silver bracelet I wore. They became like charms. I looked at the bracelet and at the bodies once more before walking back out. Villagers had started to gather now. Some gasped and stepped up to help me.

"Stay away from me." I snapped.

I wasn't ready for interaction right now. They jumped back. I grabbed the Tetsiaga and limped off. I saw some go into the hut and run out again to throw up. I limped towards the well. It was the only place I wanted to be. I didn't want to come back to this era ever again. I wanted to go home. I almost stopped as I remembered I didn't have a life there either. Two days before we had beat Naraku my family had died. Some sadistic murderer had demanded a million dollars from the city and had used my shrine as a hideout and my family as hostages. He had killed them in the end. I still felt tears stream down my face. They blurred my vision but I trudged on. After what seemed an eternity I reached the well. A second later Sesshomaru burst out of the trees. He spotted me and blinked. I held out the sword. He blinked again and stepped forwards.

"What happened? All the people in the west with spiritual power felt a huge blast." He said bluntly.

"I accidentally let it out." I said.

"Why?"

"Because Inuyasha killed them. He killed all of them. I knew he would do it. It was just a matter of time. The thing that pissed me off was he killed them while their backs were turned and their weapons out of reach. We may not have been close anymore but that was such dishonourable deaths even I felt sorry for them."

I took a deep breath to calm down. He took the sword.

"Where will you go miko?" He asked.

"Home."

Then I jumped over the well edge. I saw him look down at me once before the blue glow surrounded me.

~~END OF FLASHBACK~~

I had stopped sobbing now. I dragged myself to the kitchen. As soon as I had found out my family was killed I had went straight back to the past. I hadn't even read my moms will. The police said the maniac had been known as a cruel and wanted criminal. He had let my mom write a will and even make one phone call before she died just to toy with my family. The lawyers and such had thought I had run off in grief for a while and left it on the kitchen table. I looked around. I spotted the paper on the table. I walked over and opened a large envelope. I tore it open and pulled out a letter and will. I looked down at the note.

'_Dear I know that we will die. I want you to know we all love you. Don't wallow in grief live on. Be happy. You remember how you have a cousin named Naruto? He lives in the ninja world. I told you when you were young that your father had left this dimension for the ninja world. He and his brother did. The ninja world is a world like our own but full of ninja. Some one found out how to open a portal between the worlds. Few can get through though and you need the help of spiritual powers on this side. Well you probably remember that the spiritual power kept in our shrine is enough to open the portal. Well as I was saying your father and brother went there. His brother had a son named Naruto. You may remember him from previous visits. He was here just two summers ago I believe.'_

I smiled slightly as I remembered the blonde and the world he came from. When I had been little I had always dreamed of going there. I had been envious of Naruto. Then I had found out Naruto's parents had died before he was born. I had always wondered why I had never seen my aunt or uncle. But the blonde obnoxious kid had still visited us. We had been best friends. He had visited us two summers ago. I had gone to train with ninjas in the feudal era because of him. They weren't the same kind of ninjas but the idea was the same. I shook the thoughts off and returned to the letter.

'_Well I phoned him. You know that our phone line was set up with his somehow. I never asked how they did that but anyways. I phoned him. A lady called the Hokage answered and I told her my predicament. She immediately agreed to send Naruto over. He will come get you on the night of the 4__th__ of June with his team. You will go with him back to that world and live there. He will be your family. If you don't get back before him he will wait for you. Please live for us. We wish you a long happy life. Love Mom, Souta, and Grandpa.'_

The only good thing was that I would be a ninja. The bad things were I had no friends or other family. I guessed I hadn't had any friends or family for a while now. A year ago I had stopped caring. We had become distant. I had changed too. I was emptier. I dropped the note and clutched my side. The blood still flowed over my sides, not as much as earlier but still a lot. I looked up at the calendar. It was the 4th of June which meant Naruto would be here soon. I wanted to smile and cry at the same time. I gave into smiling with tears of pain on my face.

Naruto's POV:

Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi and I were in Tsunade's office. I was panicking. I wanted to get to Kagome quickly. When her mother had phoned I had been hysterical. They had to tie me down to stop me from destroying the place. Hey had just untied me recently.

"Calm down Naruto." Kakashi said.

"How can I calm down?! And why is Tsunade taking so long to open the damn portal?!"

"You know opening a portal is hard. I'm surprised Tsunade is even doing it just so we can visit your cousin." Sakura said.

I screamed. I had forgotten they hadn't been told why we were going.

"Do you know what?! I got a call from my aunt! She, my great uncle and cousin were murdered! She got to call me once before! They have a daughter named Kagome! She is still alive, but alone! What if something happens to her!?" I screamed.

I was quickly loosing control. Sakura looked like she had been punched in the gut, Kakashi was starring, and Sasuke's eyes had widened.

"Tsunade didn't tell us it was like that." Sakura whispered.

I screamed again and was about to knock Tsunade's door down when it opened. She stepped out and motioned us in. I ran in and dived through the open portal. Everything was blue for a moment before I was on a stone yard. I looked around at the shrine. The other three stepped out behind me. We all gaped as a huge trail of blood led from the well house to the open housed door. I tore through the yard into the house. I burst into the house and saw Kagome. The others where right behind me. Kagome was kneeling on the floor. She had huge clam marks on her side that were bleeding. She looked up at me. I saw no tears but evidence of some.

"Hello Naruto." She said. "It's so nice to see you. They're dead, Naruto. Inuyasha killed them and the murderer killed the others."

We didn't really understand. Sakura quickly crouched beside Kagome. She quickly got to work healing my cousin. Then Kagome's face took on a stubborn look.

"I killed him. I hope he rots in the deepest pit of hell." She said.

Her eyes held fire. I guessed she would be broken for a while and in a deep depression. I would have to watch her. When Sakura had finished healing her, she smiled once before falling into a dead faint. I caught her easily.

"She'll be fine now. I can't believe she stayed alive after losing so much blood. It's a miracle. If anyone had lost half this blood they would be near death." Sakura said. "She was also completely drained and exhausted."

I smiled.

"That's Kagome. She's too stubborn for her own good." I said.

"Reminds me of someone." Sakura said with a grin.

"I don't know what happened and I won't ask, at least not yet." Kakashi said. "But we had better clean up the blood."

We all nodded. I grabbed the will and note from a pool of blood and carried Kagome upstairs to her room. Then I ran back downstairs and helped the others clean the blood. When that was finished I told the others where they could sleep and then fell onto the couch myself. I was so glad Kagome was safe again. She was my only family.

Kagome's POV:

I woke up slowly. The sun fell on me and the birds chirped. It was such a nice day… I had moved on. It had only been one night and most people would be destroyed if they went through what I had but not me. I had to move on and I did. Life would be a lot simpler with out all my 'friends' in it. I smiled. It was easy to move on. They weren't my friends' just old companions from five hundred years ago. I sat up. I had to thank the girl. She had saved me. I also had to thank the others for coming for me.

I stood up. I looked down at myself and sighed. Blood stained everything. I slipped out of my room and had a quick shower before getting into some black cargo pants and a black t-shirt. I still had the silver bracelet with the weapon charms. I just examined it a moment. I had no idea how I had done it. Then I fingered the jewel at my throat. I wondered if anyone would try and take it in the ninja world. I shrugged. Then I grabbed a pack and started to pack. I just packed my essential items. Then I slipped to my rooms. I packed all the keepsakes, along with the money.

Then I skipped down the stairs. It wasn't the end of the world. I would have one dream coming true and I had planned to come back here anyways. I set my bags by the door and check on everyone. The pink haired girl was asleep in Souta's room, the silver haired man was asleep in grandpa's room, and the black haired kid and Naruto were asleep in the living room. Naruto hadn't let anyone in my mom's room. I started to cook while humming. It really was a beautiful day. As soon as the pancakes, sausages, and eggs were done I took a deep breath.

"TIME TO WAKE UP!" I yelled.

Two seconds later the four people were in the room. They were looking startled. I grinned at all of them and clapped my hands together.

"Thank you for coming to get me. Now time for breakfast." I said.

"Believe it!" Naruto and I chorused.

(Authors View)

Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura stood gaping. They had expected a break down. Now it was like looking at two Naruto's. Kagome was grinning like mad, along with Naruto. 'Oh My God! She sounds exactly like Naruto!' Was the only thing they could think.

"Well this is Sakura, Kakashi, and Sasuke." Naruto said introducing them.

They quickly said hi.

"Nice to meet you, now eat." Kagome said.

They sat down and dug in.

"Why couldn't we have ramen?" Naruto whined.

"Because that's what you always want." Kagome and Sakura snorted at the same time.

The two looked at each other and giggled. Sasuke groaned inwardly. 'Its Naruto and Sakura combined. The worst possible combination.' He thought. 'She seems nice.' Kakashi thought. 'I want Ramen!' Naruto thought. 'She is nice I guess, but she had better not go after Sasuke!' thought Sakura. They quieted as they ate. They all noticed how Kagome shut up quickly and got a sober look. She didn't speak and an almost uncomfortable silence fell. They all glanced at Kagome who wasn't doing anything but slowly chewing and looking straight ahead. She didn't seem broken or distraught, just a bit empty. Naruto hadn't seen her ever look like that.

"So how have you been?" Naruto asked breaking the silence.

"Fine." Kagome said.

"Where did you get the wound?" Kakashi asked.

"Friend." Kagome said while grabbing some more food.

They all gaped at her.

"How did you get it then?" Sasuke asked.

"He attacked me after he killed my other companions too. They were the closest thing I had to friends."

Now they had stopped eating and were perfectly still.

"You mean your friend killed your other friends then went after you, while you were all defenceless?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes." Kagome said blandly.

"Is he still alive?" Naruto asked gripping the table edge hard.

"Don't be stupid Naruto. I purified his ass past hell." Kagome said.

They all blinked.

"You're a miko?" Sakura asked.

Kagome nodded.

"Why didn't I know?" Naruto demanded.

"No reason to tell you." Kagome said.

They all fell back into silence. After they had finished eating Kagome washed and cleaned up quickly then nodded to the others. Naruto grabbed her bags and they stepped outside into the sun. Kagome took a deep breathe and reached out with the little miko power that had returned. The portal was still there just kind of asleep. She woke it and it opened. They all stepped through quickly. As they touched down in Tsunade's office they were greeted by Tsunade, Shizune, and Jiraya. The three looked up at them.

"This is your cousin?" Tsunade asked Naruto while indicating to Kagome.

"Believe it!" Naruto and Kagome grinned.

The three in the room got startled looks. Shizune was holding back giggles mentally though. 'She's just like Naruto.' She thought. 'Another obnoxious kid.' Jiraya thought with an inward sigh. 'God have mercy on us.' Tsunade thought. Then Tsunade sighed.

"Well do you want to train as a ninja Kagome? Or would you rather be a civilian?" She asked.

"Ninja." Kagome said without hesitation.

Kagome and Tsunade studied one a moment. 'She is like Naruto but she is stronger and is wiser.' Tsunade thought. 'And a lot older, not in age but in other things.' She saw it in Kagome's eyes. She saw deep emptiness, boredom, and even a hint of hate. She nodded and Kagome smiled, but the smile never reached her eyes.

"You will live with Naruto. I took the liberty of getting you guys a bigger place then Naruto's apartment." Tsunade said.

She had decided they needed it and got them a house. It had actually been in Naruto's father's will. He had asked that if any Higurashi's came and lived with Naruto that they would be cared for. She could hardly deny a request from a former Hokage and the one who saved the village. She handed a paper to Kagome.

"That's the deed."

"Why give it to her?" Naruto whined.

"Because she is a year older and she isn't irresponsible." Tsunade snapped.

Naruto pouted while Kagome looked blank.

"Kagome, will you wait outside." Tsunade said.

It wasn't a request it was a demand. Kagome just turned and walked outside. As soon as she was out of hearing range Tsunade sighed.

"Naruto, do you trust her absolutely?" She asked seriously.

Everyone turned to Naruto. He winced.

"Two years ago I would have said of course. But she has changed. Completely. She doesn't even have a trace of old Kagome in her." Naruto said.

"We will keep an eye on her then." Tsunade sighed.

Everyone nodded.

"Jiraya you will teach her in her spare time and Team seven will train her when they train themselves." She said.

"Hai." Everyone chorused.

She dismissed them with a wave of her hand. They all quickly left. Once outside Naruto turned to the others.

"We'll meet at the Ramen bar tonight." He said with a grin before trotting off to find Kagome.

The three shrugged and separated.

--

Naruto and Kagome both walked up to a two story average sized house. They looked at each other then walked up. They stuck the keys and they fit. They unlocked the door and walked in. Naruto's stuff had already been brought and was piled in a corner. Kagome set her bags down and looked around. There was a blue kitchen, a green living room, on the first floor and a light cream colored bathroom, a yellow bedroom and a red bedroom on the second floor.

"I call the red room." Kagome said.

Naruto nodded and grabbed his stuff heading for his room. Kagome did the same. Once in her room she unpacked her few books, clothes, and small keep sakes. Then she sighed and flopped down on a fully made bed. She looked out the window over the roves of the houses beside her. She smiled slightly and stayed there for a while. She finally jumped up a little while later and walked down stairs. Naruto was eating a sandwich while playing his game system.

"I'm going out." Kagome said.

"Okay." Was all Naruto said.

She walked quickly out the door onto the street. There were a few people walking around but not many. She saw one girl with long black hair and lavender eyes. Naruto had explained to her on his last visit this was Hinata, his girlfriend. She had had shorter hair in his description. She was looking a little lost. Kagome walked up to her.

"Are you looking for the Uzumaki residents?" She asked.

The girl nodded and Kagome pointed to their house. The girl stuttered a thank you and trotted to the door. Kagome just walked off. She walked towards a grass field they had passed. Naruto had said it was the training grounds or something. She walked off towards it quickly. She hated towns. They were so noisy, busy, and crowded. As she reached the field she walked towards the forest. She soon reached the first tree and decided to relax in it. She jumped up to the first branch and laid against the trunk taking a deep breath of the fresh air.

She had just closed her eyes when she felt a bug land on her shoulder. She looked at it and smiled. She used her miko powers and reached out to it. If she did this with any animals it helped them understand the. The bug hopped onto her held out finger. She examined it closely. It wasn't a wild bug she could tell immediately. She heard foot steps beneath the tree and looked down at a large dog. It sat down and barked at her. A moment later a bow with spiky brown hair, two red striped under his eyes, and a black outfit stepped beside the dog and looked up at Kagome. He was soon followed by a boy in black shades and a green coat. He also looked up. They both blinked at her and the boy in the green coat held a hand out. The bug on Kagome's finger flew down to him and crawled up his sleeve. The three just looked at one another a moment.

"So who are you?" The brown haired boy asked bluntly.

"Kagome."

"Well I'm Kiba and this is Shino, and Akamaru. Are you a ninja?"

"No, but I am starting to train to be one."

"Are you new here?" The Shino asked.

"Yes. I just arrived today."

"Do you have family here?' Kiba asked.

"Yes. My cousin."

"Who is that?"

She jumped from the tree and smiled.

"My name is Kagome Higurashi. I'm Naruto Uzumaki's cousin." She grinned.

The two gaped.

"You're Naruto Uzumaki's cousin?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah, nice to meet you." She said politely.

They starred a moment. 'At least she is quieter and politer then Naruto.' Shino thought. 'What a babe.' Kiba thought.

"So what are you doing?" Kiba asked.

"Relaxing." Kagome said bluntly.

"Shouldn't you train?" Shino asked.

"I don't have anything to train."

"Do you know weapons?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah but I don't have any with me."

"What about jutsus?" Shino asked.

"Naruto has explained them to me and I have grasped chakra but I haven't tried."

"Try now." Kiba said.

"Can you show me hand signs?" She asked.

Shino and Kiba nodded and started to show her all the hand signs. In an hour she had them down and could do them quite quickly. Then Kiba showed her how to make illusion copies of her self. After half an hour she could make three at the same time.

"Wow. I didn't think you would be this good." Kiba said.

"He means we thought you would be like Naruto. Stupid." Shino said.

"That's my cousin for you." Kagome grinned.

"KAGOME!"

They all looked back to see Naruto and Hinata trotting towards them while Naruto was waving with a grin.

"Well there goes relaxing." Kagome sighed.

The other two grinned.

"Hello Kiba, Shino." Naruto said when he reached us. "I see you met my cousin Kagome. Hinata this is Kagome."

The shy girl bowed.

"Nice to meet you Kagome." She said quietly.

Kagome smiled and bowed back.

"Hey Kagome I brought you your weapons." Naruto said.

Kagome scowled.

"Did you go into my room?" She asked dangerously.

Everyone took a step back at her tone.

"Uh…No." Naruto lied.

"Then how did you get my weapons?"

"Well…." Naruto said scratching the back of his head.

"What did I say about going in my room before?"

Naruto gulped.

"All who enter my room with out permission will be beaten senseless." He whispered.

Kiba and Hinata hid grins. No one could tell with Shino.

"So now you have to fight me. Only hand to hand and weapons. No jutsus."

Then she grabbed the hand full of weapons from Naruto and walked a little ways away getting warmed up. Naruto was sweating and cowering.

"Hinata you have to save me." He cried.

"It can't be that bad Naruto." Kiba said.

"It's worse then bad. She could kill someone with her hands alone. And she knows all these places to hit that give really extreme pain." Naruto swallowed.

Suddenly Neji, Sakura, Sasuke, Lee, Tenten , Kakashi, Lee, Asuma, and Kurenai, Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru walked up. The others blinked at them.

"Tsunade said we had to meet a new ninja." Shikamaru said.

"Yeah my cousin, she's over there. Kagome come here!" Naruto said getting distracted.

Everyone watched as the woman walked over.

"Kagome this is Hyuga Neji, Hinata's cousin, Tenten the weapon master, Rock Lee, or bushy brows, they are on a team under Might Gai, and there is Ino, Sakura's friend, Choji, a food lover, Shikamaru, a lazy but intelligent ass, and they are on a team under Asuma. Kurenai is Hinata, Shino, and Kiba's sensei." Naruto said.

"Nice to meet you." Kagome smiled softly and bowed.

'Thank god she isn't exactly like Naruto. Tsunade said they sounded exactly the same.' They all sighed inwardly with relief.

"So what are you doing?" Sakura asked.

They all noticed that Kagome had a sword at her waist, two long knives, and about three daggers that they could see.

"Naruto entered my room with out permission. Naruto tell them my rule." She said grinning.

Every one turned to a scared looking Naruto.

"All who enter my room with out permission will be beaten senseless." He whispered almost inaudible, with a whimper.

Everyone grinned.

"If you will excuse me I'm going to stretch again." Kagome said.

She walked away again.

"So is she strong?" Neji asked.

"Her punches hurt more then Sakura's when Sakura uses her inhuman strength." He cowered.

Everyone winced. Sakura's punches really hurt, if Kagome's hurt more Naruto was a goner. Naruto slowly inched forwards as Kagome motioned him up. As they stood a few feet apart everyone focused on the two closely. Kagome took a fight stance quickly. To an amateur it might look normal but to others they could see she had no opening. Suddenly Naruto was thrown thirty feet back and Kagome was where Naruto had been standing.

Everyone gaped. No one had seen them move. The two Hyugas switched their Byakugan on, Sasuke activated his sharingan, and Kakashi slid his headband up. Naruto stood up only to have Kagome in front of him in a flash. Everyone gaped again. Even the Hyugas, Sasuke, and Kakashi had barely seen her move. Kagome poked him hard. He gasped. She poked him three more times then smashed her foot into his side. He flew back and slid across the ground. Neji and Hinata gasped.

"She messed up his chakra some how, with out touching the chakra points." Neji said.

"I hit pressure points where energy flows from the body. They are not chakra points but points where any kind of energy flows from, almost like a drain that lets the excess energy out. I close them and his energy, including chakra gets mixed up." Kagome grinned.

"How did you learn that?" Asuma asked.

"Ancient scroll." Was all she said before she was crouched low and shooting for Naruto.

As she came up to him she picked him up and kicked him into the air. He groaned and tried to flip around. She shot up under him and kicked him even higher before falling to the ground. As Naruto landed none too gracefully he winced and tried to get ready. He pulled out a kunai and Kagome pulled out a foot long knife. He shot forwards too and they met head on. Kagome flicked her wrist then twisted it, effectively pulling Naruto's kunai from his grip. It soared away and Kagome's blade snaked up to kiss his throat. They all waited and watched. Naruto wasn't even breathing. They all saw the drop of blood roll down the blade.

"I yield." Naruto said so quietly they just barely caught it.

Kagome was still a moment. Everyone got the dreadful feeling there was going to be blood. Then she grinned and sheathed her knife. Then she looped an arm around Naruto's shoulder. Her hands glowed blue and Naruto sighed as all his injuries healed.

"You are getting better Naruto." Kagome smiled.

"So are you." Naruto said.

Everyone was silent as the two walked up to them.

"How did you get so fast? We couldn't even see you with our Byakugan." Neji said.

"Nor with the sharingan." Kakashi said.

"Simple. Wear a couple hundred pounds and run all the time, or wear a huge yellow back pack that ways even more and run while fighting." Kagome laughed.

No one else really understood. Everyone stood for a moment.

"We're meeting at the ramen shop tonight." Naruto grinned suddenly.

"We'll be there." Some whispered.

Then many just walked off. Kagome looked at Naruto.

"I'm going to look around."

Naruto nodded and waved as Kagome walked off.

Kagome's POV:

I walked down the street looking around. The village looked peaceful and nice. I sighed. I wasn't comfortable here though. I felt out of place and it was too nice for me. After living in the wild pretty much, chasing demons and killing I didn't like the thought of having to live in this village. It was soft for one thing and to carefree and happy. It was boring. I sighed. It didn't have too much battle, killing, or chaos. I sighed again.

I liked it better when everything was a bit chaotic and when you weren't soft and happy. When there were people who feared someone or who looked down at others, where people fought and didn't hide their dislike for one another. Where there were only a few rules. This place had so many rules and such it was scary. I sighed again and pushed the thoughts aside. I was making myself depressed. I saw a book shop and ducked in. I looked at some books and purchased one. Then I slipped back out into the street. The next place I saw was a deserted area. I peered in.

"That's the old Uchiha compound." Someone said.

I looked at a man standing off to the side. He had long, fine black hair in a ponytail. He had black eyes and was a little taller then me. He looked a lot like Sasuke.

"Can you tell me more?" I asked blankly.

"You aren't from around here?" He asked.

"No."

"Why are you here then?"

"All the people I knew died so I came here."

"Who killed them?"

"My best friend… and hesitation." I said.

"Nh."

"So will you tell me about this place?"

"It was home to the most prestigious clan in Kohona; the Uchihas. One day their prodigy Uchiha Itachi killed them all, except for Uchiha Sasuke."

"How nice." I said blandly.

He smirked slightly.

"You don't seem too horrified." He said.

"He killed his clan. So? What is the big deal? People die everyday. If someone killed them, then too bad for them."

He looked at me for a moment.

"Have you killed before?" He asked.

"Yes I've killed my best friend, my worst enemy, my friend's brother, and to many others to count." I said.

He seemed a little taken back.

"But don't tell anyone." I winked.

He smirked slightly.

"They don't know?" he asked.

"No." I laughed.

"Why do you stay here then if you kill like that?"

"Because I have no where else to go. If I go back to where I came from I would be stuck working in an office."

"Nh."

Then he stood straighter and disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"I didn't get his name." I thought aloud.

I walked into the compound and looked around for a while. I found stains of blood and scrapes on the wall where weapons had hit them. After a while I left and walked off to explore the rest of the place. I passed store after store, home after home, road after road. By dinner time, four hours later, I had learned the whole layout of the village. I had found some nifty short cuts too. I had found some young boys who had warmed up to me and showed me all the neat places, the nooks and crannies, and the secret hiding laces. They had been nice.

I finally set off for home again. When I reached it I walked to my room and dropped my book and some other things on my bed before putting them away. When that was done I walked back downstairs. I found a not telling me not to forget to meet the others at the ramen place for dinner. I shrugged after a minute and walked out the door. I walked down the now empting streets towards the ramen bar. As I came up to it I saw Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, Kiba, Lee, and Choji there. Also I saw a man with brown hair in a pony tail and a large scar across his nose. He was talking with Naruto. When I walked in Naruto waved at me.

"Kagome this is Iruka. I told you about him. He was my teacher in the academy."

I bowed slightly to Iruka and he bowed back.

"Nice to meet you Kagome."

"Nice to finally meet you too Iruka. Naruto told me a lot about you. Most of the time it had to do with him getting in trouble or you buying him ramen." I said.

Iruka grinned and scooted over. I squeezed in between him and Sasuke. I smiled at Sasuke and ordered my Ramen. When everyone else was in deep conversation I turned to Sasuke. Sasuke was on the farthest end with only me and the wall beside him. I made sure Iruka was busy to before I spoke.

"So Sasuke, I heard your whole family was killed."

Sasuke tensed and looked up at me.

"Yes. My older brother Itachi killed them."

"Why?"

"He said he wanted to see how powerful he was."

I nodded.

"So do you hate him?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because he killed my family."

"Did you love your family?" I asked.

He was silent a moment.

"Well I did look up to my brother, but I didn't like my father much. I did love my mother and a few other people. But most people ignored me or referred to me as Itachi's brother. I was just known because of him."

"So it wasn't the happiest life."

"…no." He said hesitantly.

"Where did your brother go?' I asked.

He looked at me closely.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because I thought he had to go some where, he couldn't just have run away and hidden. This is all asked out of curiosity."

"He joined Akatsuki." He said.

"Who?" I asked confused.

"Akatsuki is a group of the strongest criminals led by a leader."

"Oh."

I didn't say anything more, just continued eating my noodles. Slowly the others left. I had finished long ago but sat thinking. Only Naruto, Iruka, and I were left soon.

"I'm going. See you later Iruka." Naruto said jogging off towards home.

Iruka waved but stayed sitting. I didn't think he knew I was still there. After a minute the owner/cook stepped forwards.

"Are you two going home soon? I'd like to close."

"Oh sorry." Iruka said standing up.

Then he stopped and turned to me. He blinked.

"Sorry I didn't know you were still here or I would have talked."

I stood and smiled.

"That's okay."

"Are you going home now?"

"I think I might walk around awhile."

"Do you mind if I join you? I love the night but I like to have someone to talk too."

I nodded and we both walked off as the man closed the ramen shop. We walked down the silent streets and looked at the stars. When we came upon a small park we stopped and sat on the swings. After a minute I turned to Iruka.

"I really want to thank you. I heard you were the only one who even talked to Naruto."

Iruka smiled sadly.

"I know how it feels to have been all alone. I know what he went through." The man whispered.

"So do I." I said.

Iruka and I sat in silence.

"I love the stars." I said.

Iruka looked at me.

"They seem so friendly. No mater how alone you are they are always there for you. They never leave you alone. Even on cloudy nights you can see there light poke through the clouds. And they are just beautiful. I always wished I could reach up and pluck them from the sky. I would have stringed them on a necklace. But alas, I can't." I grinned.

Iruka smiled at me too. We fell silent for a minute. I knew he was looking at me but I ignored it. Suddenly he stood up.

"If I could pull the starts from the sky I would give them to you to wear. The most beautiful necklace, for the most beautiful woman."

I blushed.

"Thank you."

He tipped his head.

"No one has ever said something that nice to me."

"Well I'm surprised I'm the first. I doubt anyone could rival your beauty." He smiled.

I smiled back. I felt flushed. I stood up from the swing and twirled around. I started to sing a soft song about the stars. Iruka stood watching with a small smile and clear sparkling eyes. I twirled and spun like in a dance, my dance partner imaginary though. Suddenly someone clasped my hands. I looked at Iruka as he spun me. I continued to sing. When the song was finished we stopped, but Iruka didn't let go.

"Thank you for dancing with me. No one has ever danced with me." I said.

"Once again I am surprised." He smiled.

Suddenly he dipped me. I felt fuzzy as he kissed me. I gasped at the shivers and he slipped his tongue in. We kissed for what seemed like forever before he slowly pulled away for air. Then he set me back up and looked a little embarrassed.

"Thank you." I said yet again.

He looked up at me again.

"No one has kissed me like that before."

He turned even redder. I felt my own face flushed. Then I walked off quickly my clothes swishing around me. Just before I went around a corner I looked back. Iruka was still watching me. I disappeared around the corner and ran for home.

--

I woke groggily and looked at Naruto who looked serious.

"Tsunade needs us in her office in twenty minutes." He said before he was gone.

I jumped from bed quickly and into the shower. I quickly washed before jumping into clothes and strapping weapons on. Then I jumped out my window speeding off towards Tsunade's office. I was let in as I reached it. Kakashi and Naruto were already there. I stood beside them and waited. A minute later Sakura and Sasuke rushed in. Tsunade looked at us seriously.

"We have spotted two Akatsuki members on our borders."

Everyone stiffened, except me.

"They were Itachi and Kisame."

Sasuke got hatred in his eyes.

"We believe they are heading this way or heading back. Your new mission is to find and capture them."

We all nodded.

"But…"

Everyone looked back at her.

"Kagome will go instead of Sasuke. He will be excused from this mission."

"Why?" Sasuke snarled.

"Because you lose your head when fighting Itachi." She said.

Sasuke started forwards. I grabbed one of his arms and Kakashi grabbed the other and we held him still. Tsunade sighed and stood.

"I had hoped not to have to do this."

She walked up to him and used her medic abilities to make him fall unconscious. Then she had Shizune take him away.

"You will leave in half an hour." She said.

We all nodded and shot off towards our houses to grab our stuff. I packed my bag and then ran down the stairs to wait for Naruto. Just as I reached the living room a knock rang out. I walked to the door and opened it to see Iruka. He was fidgeting.

"I'm sorry about last night I shouldn't have been so forward."

I smiled.

"That's okay. I liked the kiss."

"YOU TWO KISSED!?" Someone yelled.

We both looked back at a gaping Naruto. Neither of us had heard him come down. I sighed and nodded.

"Show me."

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I won't leave until you prove it."

I sighed and looked at Iruka who was red.

"But Naruto…" He started.

"No buts." He said.

I smiled at Iruka and stepped towards him. He slowly wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. We only needed a quick kiss but it turned into more as we both felt desire rise in us. I knew I didn't have any love for this man but I did have desire and lust. When we finally ran out of air we broke apart. Naruto had a look between gaping and grinning.

"That was what I call a kiss." He said. "Hinata doesn't even kiss me like that."

I rolled my eyes.

"We have to go Iruka, we have a mission." I said.

He nodded. Naruto grinned and trotted past us out the door. Iruka then turned back to me. He scratched the back of his head and looked at the ground.

"This is kind of fast and I don't want to force you into a relationship." He said.

"It was two kisses. We aren't so far in we can't back out." I said.

He nodded.

"So do you want to have a relation ship with me?" I asked.

"Well I don't know…."

I kissed him on the cheek before running out the door.

"Think about it. You do not have to have a relation ship with me." I said quickly as I ran off towards the gate.

As I reached it I saw Naruto there already. Sakura was there too. No one else was in sight. I stopped and we waited in silence. Suddenly I saw Iruka running for us. He stopped in front of me and pulled me off to the side. Naruto grinned while Sakura blinked.

"I want you to know I like you but I need to think about this." He said. "I didn't want you to think that I was just doing this to get what I wanted. I just don't know if I love you."

I smiled up at him.

"Don't worry I knew that. I think we did this more out of desire then love."

Iruka nodded agreement.

"We'll leave it at that and pretend we never did anything." I said.

He sighed in relief and nodded. Suddenly Kakashi appeared. He blinked at Iruka.

"Yo. We must be going."

I smiled up at Iruka and gave him a quick kiss on the lips which he returned. Sakura's jaw almost hit the ground. Kakashi's eyes widened. I quickly walked out the gate. The others quickly followed.

"Not even two days and you already have a boyfriend." Sakura said.

"At least you gave him a kiss before we left. That should make him want more and make him come after you when we get back." Kakashi smiled like he was giving normal advice.

"You call that a kiss?" Naruto snorted.

"Yes. They are still just into the relationship. It probably won't get beyond that point for a while." Sakura said.

"You should have seen them kiss earlier." Naruto grinned.

"Earlier?" Kakashi and Sakura asked.

"Just before we left the house they really kissed. I got jealous just watching. I haven't seen anyone kiss with that much heat. Ever." Naruto laughed, while I turned slightly red.

Now the other two were starring in complete shock at me.

"Any tongue…" Kakashi started.

"Oh yeah." Naruto said.

"You're a pervert Kakashi." I mumbled.

He nodded slightly.

"If you want to meet a pervert meet Jiraya." Naruto laughed.

"I have already met a pervert. Miroku was more perverted then this Jiraya will ever be." I scoffed.

"To bad we couldn't have them face each other in a contest to see who was the most perverted." Naruto said. "That would be funny."

"And perverted." Sakura mumbled.

We all laughed at her logic. Then we started to talk of other things already forgetting the Iruka and me thing. After a while we ran quickly trying to gain distance. At the end of the day we stopped in a small clearing. Naruto gathered wood and Sakura started a fire. I saw Kakashi walk off towards the small river nearby. I just ran off into the trees. I inserted some of my miko energy into my charm bracelet and Kaede's bow broke off and enlarged along with a few arrows. I set off silently through the trees. I returned to the camp ten minutes later. Sakura was sitting near the fire watching eight fish cook. Naruto was playing with a stick and Kakashi was reading his book. I walked over and stuck the two gutted and skinned rabbits onto a stick over the fire. Everyone looked up at me in surprise.

"I'm a bit tired of fish." I explained. "Besides rabbit tastes better."

They just watched me a moment.

"How did you catch them?" Kakashi finally asked.

I winked.

"My secret."

They glanced at Naruto who shrugged. Then they returned to what ever they had been doing. After the meat and fish was cooked everyone ate in silence. Then we sorted out watches. Naruto and Sakura lay down under their cloaks and I could soon hear there snores. Kakashi had the first watch but I wasn't tired. I sat on the log looking into the fire. Then I looked up at Kakashi. He was watching me.

"Can I see under your mask?" I asked

He blinked. We both starred into one another's eyes for a moment. Then he reached up and pulled his mask down. I smiled at him. He was really handsome under his mask.

"Can I see you without the headband on your eye too?"

He slowly pulled the head band up. I smiled even wider. He was really handsome. He smiled back slightly.

"You know, you are one of the only ones who has seen under my mask." He said.

"Who else has seen you?" I asked.

"Old friends."

His eyes became distant. He starred off into space his eyes held sadness. I walked over and sat beside him. I looped an arm around his shoulder and gave him a half hug.

"You miss them? Everyone misses those who die." I said.

I didn't miss my friends that much. And I didn't even miss my family. 'I guess not everyone.' I thought but I didn't say anything.

"Who said they were dead?"

"The look in your eyes tells me." I said.

He sighed slightly. We sat there for a moment.

"You probably shouldn't be this close. Iruka wouldn't like it." He said. "You are going to be his girlfriend right?"

I sighed.

"No. That kiss I gave him was like a good bye kiss. We kissed out of desire, not love."

He looked at me.

"Haven't you slept with anyone before?"

I blushed.

"No."

He blinked.

"I used to have a boyfriends but he dumped me before I even got to celebrate." I sighed.

"Even Naruto has gotten laid." He said.

I groaned.

"Don't remind me. It's embarrassing that my dumb, obnoxious, and loud-mouth cousin got laid before me." I said.

He grinned. I looked back at the fire. I removed my arm from his shoulder and just sat there. I felt like I was being watched though. After about ten minutes I looked up. Kakashi was watching me.

"So you aren't going to get together with Iruka?" He asked.

"No." I said.

He smiled slightly. I raised an eyebrow. Why was he smiling? I just shrugged and looked back at the fire. I had just looked in when I felt a strong hand grasping my chin. The hand pulled me to face Kakashi. I didn't have time to realize what was happening before his mouth was on mine. I gasped and he slipped his tongue in. Suddenly I was pushed back. I slid down the trunk to the moss covered ground. I moaned slightly. Kakashi was over me and still kissing me deeply. When we ran out of air we pulled back gasping. He gulped some air and kissed some of my exposed neck.

"I'm glad you didn't pick Iruka. It gives me a chance." He whispered biting my ear.

A moan escaped me. His one arm slipped under to my lower back. He pulled me against him and rested his other hand on the back of me neck. He kissed me again even deeper and more heated then before. My mind was saying to push away but my body wanted more. It had been starved of this kind of attention. Inuyasha hadn't even done half of this and I had known him for years. Then in the last two days I had two kinds of these experiences. 'Ninja's are so more pleasurable then half demons.' One part of my mind said. I wrapped my arms around Kakashi's neck and kissed back with fever.

As soon as I did so Kakashi nudged my bottom lip asking for entrance. I opened my mouth in reply and he entered. I moaned as our tongues clashed. The hand on my lower back moved and slid up to my front. He started to undo the buttons on my shirt. He broke the kiss and kissed down my neck. When my shirt was half way open his mouth found my cleavage. Suddenly the reasonable part of my mind turned back on. I gasped and realized things were happening way to fast and this was not the time, place, or man to be doing this with.

"Kakashi wait." I pleaded.

He pulled back and looked down at me.

"It's to fast…." I started.

He cut me off with another quick but heated kiss.

"I know. I'll wait till you are ready." He whispered.

He stood up and turned around sitting back on the log, pulling his mask on and his book out. I laid there for a moment. Finally I sat up and buttoned up my shirt. I slipped over the log and grabbed my cloak. I slipped it around myself and jumped up into a tree. I took a couple deep breathes before falling into a restless sleep.

--KAGOME'S DREAM—

I ran through the forest. Branches whipped at me. I was covered in cuts and bruises. I ran on still though. I hit a branch and was knocked to the ground. I jumped back up and ran again. 'Wait… this has happened before.' I thought as I ran. Suddenly I heard a laugh off to the side. Naraku shot out of the bushes. I jumped back and growled at the man in the baboon pelt. I already had a dagger out.

"My dear little miko. What are you doing in the bush alone?" He chuckled.

"None of your damn business." I snapped.

"I heard you trained with some ninja." He cackled.

"Yes." I said bluntly.

"You know while you were away Inuyasha invited Kikyo to stay with them and he's given up on you."

"I know."

"Why take his abuse? Join me. Help me and I'll cherish you like he should have." His voice had a tinge of mockery in it.

"I won't fall for your tricks Naraku." I said.

He chuckled again.

"You know he will betray you."

"I know."

"Then why stay with him?"

"Because I promised I would. Until I kill him I will stay with him."

"Fine, but be careful little miko. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you." He said sarcastically.

Then he was gone. I stood up straighter. I walked back through the bush slowly. Suddenly everything swirled. I was now in a clearing. Sango was by the fire sleeping soundly. Miroku watched her with caring eyes. Shippo was curled up with Kirara by a tree also asleep. Inuyasha sat in a tree and Kikyo was in his lap. Miroku looked up at me and brightened.

"Lady Kagome you have returned! How did your last six months of training go?" The monk asked.

"Fine Miroku. Thank you for asking."

Inuyasha cast me a sneer then returned to stroking Kikyo's hair. I set my bag down. Then I scowled.

"These are my memories." I said aloud.

No one seemed to hear. I suddenly saw someone in the shadows. It was the man I had seen in Kohona. The one with long black hair in a ponytail, black eyes, and who looked similar to Sasuke. I blinked and he was no longer there. I sighed and added a log to the fire. Embers shot up blinding me. I opened my eyes slowly and saw that I was now in a field. My bow was aimed at Naraku who was laughing. Sango was bleeding but still fighting with her weapon. Miroku was throwing sutras but looking tired. Shippo was blasting with his fox fire from Kirara's back. Koga was lashing out with his legs. Kagura and Kana were lying on the ground, arrows in their throats and hearts. Kohaku was on the ground struggling to fight me. Inuyasha hacked at Naraku while Kikyo was standing back a ways and watching. Sesshomaru lashed out with his whip and releasing poison. I looked down at Kohaku.

"Kohaku your life is over. Pass on in peace this time."

"No. I will kill you for Master Naraku."

"He was never your master Kohaku." I said sadly. "He was your enemy. You are under a spell."

I purified his jewel and he pulsed. He started to cry.

"Sister I'm scared. Where am I? I killed Father! I killed my family! I'm sorry! I didn't mean too! It was Naraku!"

"We know Kohaku." I said.

I pulled the jewel from his back as Sango looked over. She cried out and dived for us. She hugged the dead body of her brother close. She looked up at me. Understanding but sadness filled her eyes. I just gave her a blank look before leaping forwards. I pulled a dagger out and surrounded it by miko energy. I saw an opening and dived to Naraku. My blade entered his throat. Everyone froze. Naraku gaped once before I purified him. Only dust remained. Everyone was silent as I picked up the jewel. It turned from black to pink. I looked to make sure no one was looking. Then I shot to the side. I slashed Koga's legs. He cried out and fell back as I grabbed the shards in his legs.

"These belong to me Koga. Die now. You have no more need to live. Naraku killed your pack and you will only suffer if you live."

I threw my dagger into his chest. His eyes widened and he spit out some blood.

"Why Kagome? You were my wife-to-be. Why kill me? I was your friend!"

"Yes you were. But I have no need for friends any longer. You will only make my decisions harder. And this is a mercy for you. You will not have to be the only one of your clan to live and wallow in pity. Goodbye."

Then I pulled the dagger from him and slashed his throat. He fell over his eyes dead as he starred at nothing. I purified his body to dust and looked back at everyone. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were glaring at one another. Miroku, Kirara, and Shippo were hugging Sango who was sobbing over her brother. Kikyo stood about twenty feet from me. She was gaping. She had seen me kill Koga. She opened her mouth to alert the others but I was quicker. I clamped my hand over her mouth and put my knife against her throat.

"I have no need for you. I may use the others yet though, so I will keep them alive."

Then I slashed her throat. I also purified her body. Suddenly Sesshomaru flew off. I made my face into one of sorrow. I looked at Inuyasha with fake tears on my face.

"Naraku killed Koga and Kikyo." I faked a sob.

His eyes widened.

"No!" He yelled.

Then he shot off. I smiled as soon as he was gone and walked to the others.

"Let's go back to Kaede's." I said in a fake caring voice.

They nodded and stood before walking off. I smirked and followed.

--END OF DREAM—

I sat straight up the smirk still on my lips. I snorted softly.

"I should have killed Inuyasha when I had the chance. He killed the others when they hadn't yet expired their use." I said softly.

Then I looked down at the fire. I blinked at Naruto who was supposed to be on watch. He was out cold. I frowned slightly and jumped from the tree. The sun was already rising. I snorted and stepped up beside Naruto.

Itachi's \POV:

I sat on a branch thing softly. My mangekyou sharingan was on and almost glowed. I had used a special jutsu and gone into the girl's dream.

~~THE DREAM~~

She ran through a forest. Branches whipped her. She was covered in cuts and bruises. She ran on still though. She hit a branch and was knocked to the ground. She jumped back up and ran again without hesitation. Suddenly we heard a laugh off to the side. A man in a baboon pelt, with long wavy black hair, and red eyes shot out of the bushes. The woman jumped back and growled at the man in the baboon pelt. She already had a dagger out.

"My dear little miko. What are you doing in the bush alone?" He chuckled.

"None of your damn business." She snapped.

"I heard you trained with some ninja." He cackled.

'So she has some ninja training. And she's a miko. Interesting.' I thought as I watched the dream.

"Yes." She said bluntly.

"You know while you were away Inuyasha invited Kikyo to stay with them and he's given up on you."

I briefly wondered what he meant and who Inuyasha and Kikyo were. I also wondered who the man was too. He seemed like an enemy but they were having a conversation.

"I know."

"Why take his abuse? Join me. Help me and I'll cherish you like he should have." His voice had a tinge of mockery in it.

"I won't fall for your tricks Naraku." She said.

'Naraku is his name.' He chuckled again.

"You know he will betray you."

"I know."

"Then why stay with him?"

"Because I promised I would. Until I kill him I will stay with him."

'She seems to like the man in question but plans to kill him… interesting.' I thought.

"Fine, but be careful little miko. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you." He said sarcastically.

Then he was gone. She stood up straighter. She walked back through the bush slowly. Suddenly everything swirled. We were now in a clearing. A brown haired woman was by the fire sleeping soundly. A monk watched her with caring eyes. A fox kid thing was curled up with a cat with two tails by a tree also asleep. A man with dog ears sat in a tree and woman who looked like the dreamer was in his lap. The monk looked up at the dreamer and brightened.

"Lady Kagome you have returned! How did your last six months of training go?" the monk asked.

'Her name is Kagome. I must remember that.' I thought.

"Fine Miroku. Thank you for asking."

Dog boy cast her a sneer, then returned to stroking the woman's hair. Kagome set her bag down. Then she scowled.

"These are my memories." She said aloud.

I almost chuckled. It seems she had just realized that. No one seemed to hear. Suddenly she looked up at me. I quickly stepped back deeper in the shadows. She got a look of remembrance. She blinked and seemed to no longer see me. She sighed and added a log to the fire. Embers shot up blinding her. Everything swirled again.

We were now in a field. Kagome held a bow that was aimed at Naraku who was laughing. The brown haired woman was bleeding but still fighting with her boomerang. The monk was throwing sutras but looking tired. The fox child was blasting with blue fire from the cat's back. A wolf man was lashing out with his legs. A woman with black hair and a fan and an albino child were lying on the ground, arrows in their throats and hearts. A boy who looked like the brown haired woman was on the ground struggling to fight Kagome. Dog boy hacked at Naraku while his lover was standing back a ways and watching. A man that looked human but had markings on his face lashed out with a green glowing whip and releasing poison. Kagome looked at the boy in front of her.

"Kohaku your life is over. Pass on in peace this time."

"No. I will kill you for Master Naraku."

It seemed the boy was a vassal of the demon Naraku.

"He was never your master Kohaku." Kagome said sadly. "He was your enemy. You are under a spell."

She purified his jewel and he pulsed. He started to cry.

"Sister I'm scared. Where am I? I killed Father! I killed my family! I'm sorry! I didn't mean too! It was Naraku!"

'He was under hypnosis and being used against his will to kill his family and battle his friends.' I summarized.

"We know Kohaku." I said.

Kagome pulled a pink jewel from his back as the brown haired woman looked over. She cried out and dived for them. I summarized that this was the boy's sister since they wore similar uniforms. She hugged the dead body of her brother close. She looked up at Kagome. Understanding but sadness filled her eyes. Kagome just gave her a blank look before leaping forwards. Kagome pulled a dagger out and surrounded it by pink miko energy. She saw an opening and dived to Naraku. Her blade entered his throat. Everyone froze. Naraku gaped once before she purified him. Only dust remained. Everyone was silent as she picked up a large jewel. It turned from black to pink. She looked to make sure no one was looking. Then she shot to the side. I wondered what she was doing when she slashed wolf boy's legs. He cried out and fell back as she grabbed two pink shards in his legs.

"These belong to me Koga. Die now. You have no more need to live. Naraku killed your pack and you will only suffer if you live."

She threw my dagger into his chest. His eyes widened and he spit out some blood.

"Why Kagome? You were my wife-to-be. Why kill me? I was your friend!"

'He was her fiancé?' I wondered. 'And she killed him. She isn't an ordinary person.'

"Yes you were. But I have no need for friends any longer. You will only make my decisions harder. And this is a mercy for you. You will not have to be the only one of your clan to live and wallow in pity. Goodbye."

I nodded agreement at her words. Then she pulled the dagger from him and slashed his throat. He fell over his eyes dead as he starred at nothing. She purified his body to dust and looked back at everyone. Marking man and Dog boy were glaring at one another. The monk, cat, and fox kid were hugging the brown haired man who was sobbing over her brother. Dog boy's lover stood about twenty feet from Kagome. She was gaping. She had seen Kagome kill Koga. She opened her mouth to alert the others but Kagome was quicker. Kagome clamped her hand over her mouth and put her knife against her throat.

"I have no need for you. I may use the others yet though, so I will keep them alive."

I smirked at her words. Then she slashed Dog boy's lover's throat. She also purified her body. Suddenly marking man flew off. Kagome made my face into one of sorrow. She looked at Dog boy with fake tears on her face.

"Naraku killed Koga and Kikyo." She faked a sob.

His eyes widened.

"No!" He yelled.

Then he shot off. Kagome smiled as soon as he was gone and walked to the others.

"Let's go back to Kaede's." She said in a fake caring voice.

They nodded and stood before walking off. I saw Kagome smirked and followed.

~~END OF THE DREAM~~

She was very interesting. I had stayed around and heard her laugh when she woke up saying she should have killed the man with the ears. She was different then others I had met. I grinned as I had remembered before I had gone into her dreams. I had watched them that night undetected. I had watched as the copy ninja started to make out with her. She had pushed him away though. I smirked again. Then I stood up. I saw the girl jump down to the Kyuubi, who I had knocked out. She snorted and looked around. Her eyes rested on my hiding place and she winked. I scowled slightly wondering how she had found me. She kicked Naruto hard effectively waking him. He groaned and sat up.

"You slept through your watch." She said with a wink in my direction.

"What!? Waugh! Please don't tell." He said.

"I won't but wake the others."

The boy nodded and quickly woke the others. The copy ninja watched the raven haired girl closely. The girl didn't notice or ignored him; probably the latter. I smirked and shot off to find Kisame again.


	29. Pure to Tainted Part 2 : Crossover

Kagome's POV:

I waited till I sensed the intruder was far off before I started to walk. The others quickly fell in line. We had solider pills and cold rabbit meat for breakfast. We ate as we walked quickly. I yawned. We walked till noon chatting and scouting. When we reached a small stream at lunch we stopped for a minute. I walked ahead, a couple hundred of feet forwards. I leaned against a tree and waited. Suddenly Kakashi appeared. He scratched the back of his head.

"I'm sorry about last night I was a bit forceful."

"No you weren't. You were kind and understanding. You even backed off when I asked. I know a couple of people who wouldn't have, no mater what I wanted." I yawned.

He blushed slightly. I grinned at him. Then he looked at the ground.

"Would you mind if I kissed you again."

I blinked then smiled and shook my head. He stepped forwards and pulled his mask down. He put a hand on either side of my head and leaned down. Our lips met and he pushed closer to me pinning me between his body and the tree. He slid his tongue into my mouth again making the kiss more heated. We kissed till we were out of air, then he pulled back and took a step back. He pulled his mask back up and retreated some more. I smiled and looked like nothing had happened. A second later Naruto and Sakura walked up.

"Let's go!" Naruto grinned, marching forwards.

We shrugged and followed. Over the day we switched between running and walking. When night fell, I once again went hunting leaving the other chores to the others. Kakashi told me to be careful saying we were getting close to the place Uchiha Itachi had last been spotted. I smiled and waved off his worries as I strode through the forest. When I was about two kilometres from camp I stopped and cleared my throat.

"I know you are there. Just come out."

Two people dropped from the trees. They both wore black coats with red clouds. One looked like a shark with a large wrapped sword. He was grinning. Kisame. The other was the same man I had seen near the Uchiha compound and in my dream. Itachi. I smiled at them.

"Well Kisame and Itachi it's nice to meet you. Anything you need?"

Kisame looked slightly startled.

"Isn't your mission to capture or kill us?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Then why not fight or call your friends."

"Don't be foolish. Even if I called they would never hear me and I don't want to fight. Besides they are not my friends." I said the last part forcefully.

They both blinked.

"Not you're friends?" Kisame asked.

I just gave him a smirk. There was silence a moment.

"Why don't you want to fight?" Kisame asked.

"Because I don't wish to waste my energy. Besides I'm not in the mood." I said.

"You don't seem like a Kohona ninja." The shark scowled.

"I'm not really one. I'm just there because I have to be there. No where else I could go and no one would accept me. Kohona won't even accept me in the end." I sighed.

I looked up at the night sky and the stars.

"I'm tired."

The two blinked at me and listened closely.

"I'm tired of life. It has got to boring. I'm tired of death. It has gotten so old. There is too much of both."

The two stayed silent.

"You know I use to love life. I wanted to live. As soon as I decided I didn't care my power boosted. Now I live for the moments where a scale weighs me. The tiniest mistake and it tips to death. I love those moments. The pure exhilaration."

I smiled.

"I heard you killed your friends and others." Itachi said.

Kisame seemed surprised his partner had spoken. I gave him a lop-sided grin.

"They had expired. They were no longer useful. I could no longer use them."

I saw Kisame wince at my words.

"I want you to know I don't do that to everyone; only the ones who are not needed but useful." I yawned.

"So you like to play with life and tease death." Itachi said.

I nodded vigorously.

"You understand. I know you do Uchiha. You have had the same experiences."

"What made you like that?" The shark asked.

"Oh I guess it might have been the three years I spent hunting someone down and killing him, using and killing my friends, killing when I pleased, and coming close to death more then once."

He snorted.

"I have had more life and death scenarios in the past three years then you have had in your entire life Sharky." I said.

He blinked.

"I hate life, and I despise death, and neither will have me. Life tries to get rid of me but death won't accept me just yet. I am still useful."

I started to finger the Shikon No Tama at my throat. Both men looked at it. They starred a moment.

"What is that?" Itachi finally asked.

I knew he had seen it in the dream.

"The Shikon No Tama, the jewel of four souls. It is a powerful jewel that may give the user on wish, any wish. It is mine as I am its. We are partners. I am its protector." I said.

"You are a miko?" the Uchiha asked.

He didn't sound surprised. I nodded. The shark snorted.

"They died out over three hundred years ago."

"What if I told you I belong to no time? I lived in the present to be dumped in the past. I lived in the past and was cast back to the future only to be kicked from that dimension to this one. Then I go to Kohona only to be kicked out in the end. The last has not yet happened but it will." I sighed.

"You don't like Kohona?" The shark asked.

"Like it." I started to laugh. "I hate it. It's soft, kind, happy, full of rules, carefree, should I go on. Hell would be nicer then there."

I stifled my laughter and the shark and Uchiha shared a look.

"You are not loyal to it?" The shark asked.

"I never belonged there and I never will. I hate everyone there. I don't mind Naruto but I don't love him. The copy ninja kisses nicely but he is soft too."

The Uchiha smirked and the shark gaped at the Kakashi part. I flexed my fingers.

"Do you want to fight? I kind of feel like it now." I said.

The shark and Uchiha shared another look. Then the shark jumped back in the trees and headed for the others. Uchiha smirked at me.

"I saw your dreams."

"I know. I saw you in them." I said.

"What was it about?"

"In the other dimension I travel back to the past, five hundred years ago. The era was full of demons and such. That is where I spent the last three years. Compared to it, the ninja world is tame." I sighed.

"Let's fight." He said.

I looked at the Uchiha and smiled.

"It is a hard match to predict." I said.

He smirked. I pulled a dagger free and shot forwards. I saw him pull out a kunai and meet me head on.

For forty minutes we clashed metal, kicked, punched, blocked, and dodged. He used a lot of jutsus making copies, fire balls, illusions, and such. I had only my weapons and strength but kept up for a while. I didn't want to use my miko powers because it would be a bit unfair and I finally found a worthy opponent to just have fun fighting. I wanted the fight to last. What I didn't know till the end was that the while time I had a joyous smile and an exhilarated, excited, and wild look in my eyes. After the forty minutes, though, I was getting tired. Suddenly the Uchiha vanished. A moment later my weapon was twisted from my grasp and a hand clamped over my throat. An arm also circled my waist, pinning my arms. I was pulled back against the Uchiha's chest. I was too tired to fight.

"Try to kill me Uchiha." I said blankly.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because I have run out of options. My life is empty. I have no purpose. Beside you won't be able to."

"You still have choices."

"Do I?" I asked.

"Join us."

I blinked.

"Join Akatsuki."

I thought a moment. Then I smirked.

"Yes."

I heard a chuckle come from the man. Then there was silence a moment.

Itachi's POV:

She was a skilled fighter and Akatsuki could use her. She also loved to fight. The whole time she fought her eyes shined and her face held a grin of sadistic joy. One thing bothered me though.

"Why did you not use jutsus?" I asked.

"I do not know any."

My eyes widened. This woman had fought me with noting but raw strength and weapons. She had fought well to. She was exhausted but she had made even me a tired.

"What do you know of Ninja's?" I asked.

"I know how to control Chakra and how to make illusionary copies. Besides that I can run as fast or as far as any ninja. I can use any weapon to perfection and I have miko powers."

"So you can fight well enough even though you know no jutsus or techniques." I summarized.

I felt her nod. It was dark but my Sharingan could still see. She was very interesting. I felt her sigh.

"God life is complicating."

I agreed completely. I looked down at her. Her breathing was louder and came quicker. I realized she was really tired. I smiled and scooped her up bridal style. She squeaked and tried to push away. I let her. She stumbled back and collapsed. I smirked and walked back over, picking her up. This time she just sighed and let me lift her. I jumped into the trees and shot off towards the Kohona ninja camp.

As I arrived I found Kisame sitting on the log looking bored out of his mind. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura were tied up and glaring at the shark man. They were completely drained of any chakra by his sword. Kisame grinned up at me and Kagome. The other three saw Kagome in my arms and glared even harder. Kagome was half asleep, her eyes half closed. She was still breathing hard. To the others she probably looked half dead.

"Put her down." The Kyuubi yelled.

"Why?" Kisame taunted.

"Because she is my cousin!" He growled trying to rise.

I raised an eyebrow. She was the Kyuubi's cousin?

"Shut up Naruto." The pink haired girl snapped.

At least one of them had any sense. I thought with a small smirk.

"She is coming with us." I said.

"Why?" Kakashi asked.

"Because she is our newest member." I said.

Kisame grinned slightly. The other three looked horrified.

"It was fun Kakashi. But I decided to join them. If you go back to my dimension I will kill you. Bye cousin dear. And Sakura have fun with Sasuke. Kakashi maybe you and Iruka should get together."

The Fox was gaping, Sakura was starring, and the copy ninja was opening and closing his mouth like a gasping fish. I smirked slightly. The most amusing thing was she had just told the copy ninja he struck her as gay. Kisame was grinning like mad now. I motioned Kisame over. He used a teleportation jutsu and flickered away. I threw a shuriken at the pink haired girl first, cutting her binds so they could get away, then grabbed Kagome's bag before following the shark.

--

As we appeared in front of the base I saw Kisame waiting. I followed him in. The halls were empty in the large cave/base. It was large and a bit creepy but served their purpose. Everyone at the moment was probably asleep. Kisame headed for his room but I walked for Leader's room. I knocked on the large door. A moment later it swung open. Pein was standing there his orange spiky hair sticking out everywhere and his piercings covering his face. He looked half asleep.

"I have a new member." I said.

He looked at the half asleep girl in my arms.

"She looks half dead." He said.

I smirked. Then he blinked and looked closer. He scowled and motioned me in. I blinked. I stepped in and he shut the door. He flicked on the light. I smirked as I saw Konan asleep in the large bed. Suddenly Pein gaped. I blinked. I had never seen him show surprise. He slowly and hesitantly reached out. He stroked Kagome's cheek.

"Kagome…" He whispered.

This caught my attention. I hadn't told him her name. Kagome opened her eyes slowly and grabbed Pein's hand. She smiled up at him still looking exhausted.

"Brother." Was all she whispered, before she was out like a lamp.

My eyes widened at the one word she had whispered.

"Keep her in your room tonight till I can get something else arranged. And tell no one of this." He said quietly.

"Hai." I said.

I turned and headed out the door. I noticed Pein watched us leave, his eyes on the girl in my arms. I shut the door behind me and walked down the hall. When I came to our door I opened it. I saw Kisame already asleep in his bed. The one thing was that partners had to stay in the same room. Pein said something about getting used to your partner and learning to live with them. The room was cut in half. Half was painted red with black furniture. That was my half. The other half was blue with deep blue furniture. That was Kisame's half. The colors clashed but who cared? Not me.

At the end of the room was a door leading to a large bathroom we had to share. There was also an arch on my side of the room leading to a small room less then half as big as our room. It also had a door in it that connected to our room. I had heard it was used as a study once but was now empty. I had wanted to stay in there but Pein had told me not to. I hated sharing with my as annoying as hell shark partner. I just sighed and laid Kagome on my bed. I sighed again before tearing my cloak and shirt off and getting in the other side. I pulled the covers up and soon drifted off.

Deidara's POV:

I woke up to be greeted by an orange swirl hovering over my face.

"TOBI GET LOST, un!" I yelled.

"Okay Deidara Tobi is a good boy. Tobi came to tell you breakfast is ready." The raven haired, mask wearing, guy said before darting out of the room.

I sat up and rubbed my one eye. I glanced at Sasori's bed and saw it made and empty. I yawned and jumped up. I had a quick shower and pulled on some black clothes. Then I headed through the empty halls to the kitchen. I walked in to find Sasori, Hidan, Kisame, and Kakuzu at the table. I yawned and sat down again. Tobi was trying to cook once again. He wasn't good but the food was edible and had at least a speck of flavour.

Everyone else was too lazy to make their own food and no one else could cook, well almost no one. The only other person in the place that could actually cook besides Tobi was Itachi but he rarely cooked; very rarely. The one time he had cooked in six years, was because he seemed to be bored out of his mind. Everyone had been worried about poison at first and wouldn't touch the food but after sitting with him glaring at us for a few moments we had slowly all taken a bite. It had been like heaven. The food had been delicious. Itachi had stood watching, his arms crossed and a small amused smirk on his face. He hadn't cooked again even though we had begged him too. Most of the time, he ate Tobi's food without complaint or made something just for himself.

I scowled slightly. I would never have guessed the sadistic, powerful, cold-blooded Uchiha could do something like cook. It had shocked more then one person that day. I sighed and took some toast. It was the least burnt or ruined thing on the table. I looked around and frowned at Kisame. He was downing coffee and looked tired. Then I remembered he had returned in the night after a mission.

"Mission go well, un?" I asked.

"Easy but tiring." He yawned drinking more coffee.

"Where is Itachi, un?" I asked.

"In his room. Better go wake him Tobi." Kisame said.

Tobi nodded enthusiastically and trotted off. We sat in silence for a moment. Then suddenly Tobi was in the door way. He was waving his arms like crazy and stuttering nonsense. We all watched a moment. Then I stood up and smacked him upside the head causing him to stop.

"What, un?" I asked.

"Girl…Itachi…Same bed."

Everyone froze. Hidan had a fork half way to his mouth, Kakuzu almost dropped a plate, Sasori had widened eyes, and I felt shock flow through me. I had never, in the six years here heard of Itachi even kissing a woman, let alone having on in his bed. He had never gone to one while in any towns either. Everyone knew he was still a virgin and some even said he was gay; never when he was near of course. There was silence a moment the only sound was Kisame downing his coffee.

In a second everyone was out the door except Kisame who would have seen the girl when he woke. Everyone had to see this. When we reached Kisame and Itachi's door we peered in. We all gaped. There was Itachi's black bed occupied by two people. A blank was pulled up to their necks. Itachi was sleeping soundly. We all focused on the woman beside him. She had raven black tresses that fanned out around her. She had soft creamy skin and her lips were luscious and begging to be kissed.

They weren't facing one another but they were close together. We stood starring a moment. Then Tobi started to walk forwards. We reached to grab him but he skipped from our grasp. He skipped up to the bed. As soon as he had gotten a step in the room Itachi's eyes had flown open and he sat straight up a kunai in his hand and one buried in the wood beside our heads. We all gasped slightly. We hadn't even seen him throw the first kunai. Itachi looked at us blankly. We all noticed he had no shirt on. This raised our suspicion that some thing had happened between the two. Tobi skipped up to the woman and leaned down to her. Itachi just blinked uncaring and watched blankly. Tobi poked the woman in the shoulder. Her eyes snapped open and she starred at Tobi.

"Who the hell are you?" She asked.

We were surprised. We had expected her to scream, sit up, or jump to Itachi. Instead she just laid there looking curiously at Tobi.

"Tobi is Tobi! Tobi is a good boy! That is Deidara, Sasori, Hidan, and Kakuzu!' Tobi said happily. "Are you Itachi's girlfriend?"

There was silence a moment. Itachi had a small amused smirk on his face and the woman raised an eyebrow. Then she looked at us.

"Is he always this obnoxious?"

I nodded vigorously. Then she sighed and sat up. At the same time Itachi slipped from bed. We saw that the woman was full dressed and Itachi wore pants. We all almost sighed. We had thought Itachi had finally gotten laid. The woman stood up and looked around. She looked at Itachi with a small smile.

"So this is Akatsuki?" She asked.

"Yes."

We all blinked. Most of the time the Uchiha gave a nod or something, he rarely spoke.

"So what were you doing In Itachi's bed with him, un?" I asked.

"That is what I would like to know too; Itachi?"

We all blinked. It seemed she didn't know why she was there either.

"Leader told me to keep you in here. I wasn't about to sleep on the floor so you could have had the bed." Itachi said blankly.

We all wondered why he hadn't just dumped her on the floor. It seemed she wondered the same thing.

"Why not put me on the floor?"

"Easier to put you in my bed, and not have to worry about it."

'Since when did he worry about anything, un?' I wondered.

"Nh." The girl said.

We all blinked. That was Itachi's most frequently used word, and sounded odd coming from this frail looking woman. Now that I got a better look at her she was a little shorter then me, her hair fell to her waist, she had soft brown eyes, she had flawless skin, and a very nice figure. I whistled mentally. 'She is so hot, un.' I thought. She blinked then looked down at herself. I noticed that her outfit was cut, torn, and there was dirt and some blood covering it. She scowled.

"I liked this outfit. I can't believe you wrecked it Itachi."

We all gaped. This woman had fought Itachi and lived?! Itachi chuckled slightly giving some of us heart attacks from fear. I had only heard him chuckle twice before. It happened either after of before he did something I didn't particularly like.

"I'll get you back." She pouted.

Her pout was so cute…Wait! She had just threatened Itachi! We all waited for him to kill her.

"Maybe you will Kagome."

We all blinked. Her name was Kagome. She sighed.

"Can I have a shower?" She asked.

Itachi nodded towards the bathroom. Kagome bowed her head slightly and glided to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. We all stood in the door way still. Itachi just looked at us and started forwards. We all took a couple steps back as he reached the doorway. Tobi was already out of the room beside me. Itachi gave us a blank look and slammed the door. We all stood there a moment.

"You're lucky he's in a good mood or you would all be dead." Kisame said from the end of the hallway.

"You call that a good mood?" Kakuzu asked.

Kisame nodded.

"How the fuck can you stay in the same fucking room as him?" Hidan asked.

"Easy. Don't stay in there in the day. At night don't say anything just fall in bed and sleep." He said blandly.

I almost pitied Kisame; having to stay in the same room as Uchiha. It would scare me to death. If I stayed in there and just heard him come in it would give me a heart attack, or sleeping in his presence would give me fears. After another minute we all wandered to the kitchen.

"Since Itachi is in a good mood maybe he would cook, un." I said.

"I doubt it, but try asking Kagome. I think she can cook." Kisame yawned.

"What do you know about her?" Sasori asked.

"I only know she's eighteen and from the other dimension. Her cousin is Naruto Uzumaki the Kyuubi container. She hates Kohona or any other soft ninja village. She is also a good fighter. She and Itachi fought for forty minutes before Itachi got her though I think they were just fighting for fun mostly." Kisame said.

"So she didn't want to come but Itachi fought her and made her, un." I said.

It was the same thing that had happened to me. I kind of liked being here now though.

"No she wanted to come but she also wanted to fight Itachi." Kisame said.

"She wanted to fight Itachi, un?" I asked "Does she have a death wish, un?"

"No but she has no qualms about dying. She said she wouldn't mind dying because living was getting boring." Kisame said seriously.

We all fell silent after this, absorbing this new information. Then we walked back to the kitchen waiting for Kagome and Itachi to come out of the room.

Itachi's POV:

Kagome was out of the shower in five minutes. I was surprised she hadn't been in there for hours. But I didn't complain. I especially didn't complain when she came out wrapped in only a large towel. I smirked and watched as she walked over to her bag. She pulled out some clothes. She scowled at me as I watched. She had very fine legs. Her skin was flawless as far as I could see. No scars, scrapes, or bruises. If what she had said about being a miko was true then she could have easily healed herself of any of those.

The base surprisingly held a large library. Sasori, Pein, Konan, and I were the only ones who went in there. We were the only ones allowed in there. There was an old jutsu on the room that kept those not wanted out. Like the people who tried to steal and sell the books, destroy them, or just hide in the room. I had seen Tobi go in once too. Well I was allowed in and found some really old books. Some of them were even from the other dimension. I had found one on how to open the portal to the other dimension too. I hadn't told anyone. I could open the portal but I would need the help of spiritual power on the other side. And that was very rare. There were a few descendents of mikos and monks on the other side but none knew of me or this dimension that I knew of. But after I had found out how to open the portal I had read up on those with spiritual powers. I had learned a lot on them and knew almost everything on them.

Kagome scowled at me a moment longer then she turned her back to me and pulled on her underwear and pants on under the towel. Then she let the towel drop. I only saw her back though. I scowled as I saw her back. There was a large scar up it. I walked closer. It wasn't just a jagged scar. It said something. I touched it gently. It flashed red. Kagome whimpered loudly and crumpled to the ground. I gaped a moment. Then I scooped her up and put her on my bed. She didn't look unconscious. She looked asleep. I knew she was dreaming. I did some hand signs and closed my eyes resting my hand on her forehead. I was sucked into her mind where I could watch her dream.

--INSIDE THE DREAM--

Everything was black for a minute then suddenly I was outside an old hut. The sky was a dreary grey. It was another memory. I saw Kagome come walking up to the hut. I followed her and walked beside. I knew she saw me and would recognize me but she couldn't do anything because she had to act out the memory. We looked into the hut. I saw the bodies of the brown haired woman, the monk, an old woman, the fox child, and the two tailed cat. They had been ripped apart, decapitated, and cut up. There blood was everywhere. I starred at the scene a little surprised. Kagome even had a surprised look. Then I heard a laugh behind us. We turned to see dog boy laughing.

"Inuyasha. My old lover and my best friend." Kagome whispered for my sake.

He was drenched in blood. He laughed again.

"You didn't think I really liked you guys did you? It was all an act." He said laughing.

Kagome scowled. He looked over his sword.

"It won't transform anymore but it doesn't mater since I will soon have the power of the Shikon No Tama. Kagome, do you prefer to be killed by the sword you pulled free for me or by the claws that killed your friends."

"His sword transforms and gains more power but only if he wants to protect someone." She said for my sake again.

She had some tears on her face. The old emotions she had felt during the memory were taking a hold of her.

"Shippo was a child! You killed them when their backs were turned and their weapons out of reach! They were defenceless!" She yelled at him. "You are more dishonourable then a dog!"

I nodded. What she had said was very true. He laughed. Kagome's little sorrow was replaced by blind rage. She lunged at him. She didn't see anything but him. He seemed a bit surprised by how fast she moved but he did dodge, while raking her with his claws. She gasped and doubled over. I knew she hadn't been hit because she was slow. It was because Inuyasha was faster; probably faster then me. He laughed and strode up to her. She winced as he grabbed her arms. He pinned her to the ground. She was now lying on her stomach. Inuyasha lifted the back of her shirt farther up.

"If you're going to rape me you're doing it wrong." She growled.

"Oh, but Kagome I have a better plan. It will make you suffer more then if I rape you. Rape would be too easy." He cackled.

Then he quieted and leaned close to her.

"A little flea told me that you were the one to kill Kikyo and Koga. I didn't care about Koga but Kikyo was mine. I almost fell for your lies. I was surprised but now I'm just pissed off."

Then he cracked his knuckles. He started to chant something. His hands glowed like fire but of black and red. He kept chanting as he reached for Kagome's back, He touched her back with a glowing claw and started to cut into her flesh. He did it slowly. Kagome was fighting the whole time. Her mouth was open in a soundless scream. I knew it had to hurt. He wrote the word 'CURSED' down her back. As soon as he was finished he stood up and took a step back. The word flashed red like blood then cuts healed leaving only a vivid scar.

"I learned that from Kikyo. You are now cursed for all eternity Kagome." He laughed manically. "You will never die. You may not think at a curse but no matter how much pain you experience you will not die. And if you lie with a man it will give you so much pain you will wish to die. Don't fall in love Kagome it will just hurt you." He kept laughing the whole time. "Also it will do a few other things. Maybe if you live till your time there will be a book on it."

"You bastard." Kagome hissed.

"Better be nicer to me Kagome. I plan to keep you for a while till I get bored at least. Now with that curse I can torture you until I find away to swap your soul and body for Kikyo's."

"That will never happen. I am not her and I will never be. I hate Kikyo and hope she rots in hell."

Inuyasha kicked her in the gut hard. She spit up some blood. Then she sat up. She pulled her shirt back down and tried to stand. I almost reached out to help her but I couldn't interfere in dreams. She gave me a look that said stay back. I complied and took a couple steps back. When she was on her feet she pulled a dagger loose and threw it at Inuyasha. He caught it even at the speed it was hurled. Now I saw why demons and such were feared so much in the past.

"Oh Kagome, poor, poor Kagome, you were always so weak."

That did it. Kagome snapped. I saw her start to gather her miko powers. She let them almost all go. I was shocked at so much power she had. It was more then any miko I had read ever had. It started to surge out in ripples of purification. It hit Inuyasha and he screamed before he was purified. There was nothing left. The power still rippled over the village though, purifying everything. When one of the ripples hit me I was thrown out of the dream.

--OUTSIDE OF THE DREAM--

I blinked and took my hand from Kagome's head. She sat up and looked down at herself. She scowled. I realized she had fallen unconscious before she had gotten a shirt on. She covered her breasts with and arm and leaped from bed.

"Do you enjoy poking about in people's dreams?" She asked.

"Yes." I smirked.

She rolled her eyes and pulled a shirt on. I noticed before she did that the curse mark was a fading red. She pulled her shirt down and looked at me.

"Are we going to see the Leader?"

I looked at her.

"Do you remember last night?" I asked.

She nodded.

"I remember seeing my brother."

"That was the leader."

She blinked then nodded slowly.

"I'm going to have a shower first." I said.

"Hurry." She said as I walked into the bathroom.

I did have a quick shower. I frowned as I realized I had also left my clothes in my room. I wrapped a towel around myself and walked out. Kagome glanced at me and smirked once before returning to brushing her hair. I quickly got dressed and opened the door. Kagome jumped up and followed me. I walked quickly down the hall to Konan and Pein's door. I knocked loudly. A moment later Konan opened the door. She looked as sleepy as she always did. She gave us a blank stare then she let us in.

We stepped in quickly. We both looked around a moment. The room was a red and had deep blue furniture. Instead of two beds though there was one. I smirked and Konan gave me a flat stare. Pein came out of the bathroom a second later. He looked at us and smiled. Then he opened his arms. Kagome strode forwards and crushed him in a hug. Konan and I were left to blink and watch in interest.

"Nice to see you sis. What has it been, three, four years?" Pein asked.

"It's been exactly four years, three months, five days, and two hours, but who's counting?" Kagome said with a grin.

Pein laughed and motioned her to a chair. Kagome and I both sat in chairs off to the side and Konan and Pein sat on the bed.

"Well I bet you two have a lot of questions." Pein said to Konan and I.

We nodded slightly.

"Okay so I'll explain."

He cleared his throat and took a breath.

"Kagome and I are siblings. Our Father was Namikaze Takashi. He married a woman named Higurashi Kun-loon. He changed his last name to hers. He had two kids with her; Kagome and Me. He and his brother Namikaze Minato came to this dimension when a portal opened near them once. They both went to Kohona. They both liked each other but they were both completely different, they even looked different. Minato became the Yondaime and his brother, our father, Takashi abandoned it. I came here two years after they came here. I was thirteen at the time. Kagome was four. I trained with my father, and started Akatsuki when he was killed eight years ago. I still visited Kagome and my mother every couple of years. I found out my uncle, the Yondaime died and left his son Naruto. Naruto is our cousin but neither of us loves him. When I went to visit Kagome and our mother I saw him once in a while. He didn't recognize me though. I also have a step brother named Souta. He is my adopted brother but that isn't important." Pein said.

We sat soaking this in. So Pein was the Yondaime's nephew. He was Uzumaki Naruto's cousin and Kagome's brother. He also came from the other dimension. When I was sure I had it straight I nodded. Konan did the same.

"So you two are siblings? Are you close?" Konan asked.

"Yeah. Kagome and I were inseparable when we were younger. We also spend every second we can together when I go visit. She is the only family member I really love." He said.

Kagome nodded in agreement.

"Now my turn to ask questions." He said. "How did you get here Kagome and why are you here?"

"Well Pein a lot has happened in the past four years." She started fidgeting a bit. "You know that old well on the shrine grounds we own?"

He nodded.

"Well I fell down it."

Pein smirked slightly.

"Break something?" he asked.

"No. I never hit the bottom. And I didn't exactly fall. I was pulled down."

We all blinked.

"Somehow I was pulled through a blue glow by a giant centipede with a human top. I was pulled five hundred years into the past."

We all gaped slightly.

"Well as I said I went back in the past. I met a half demon named Inuyasha and found out I had the Shikon No Tama in me."

Pein nodded then grinned.

"Isn't that the jewel grandpa always rambled on about?"

Kagome nodded and showed him the jewel around his neck. We all looked at it a moment. It was like it was calling to us. I almost stood up and grabbed it. We all certainly leaned towards it. Kagome snapped her fingers and we blinked sitting back.

"It contains power and wishes to be used. I am the Shikon No Miko." She said.

"You're a miko?" Konan asked.

"Yes. Well the whole adventure began when the demon, mistress centipede, pulled me through the well…."

She launched into the story telling us all the main details. We sat for over three hours listening to her. When she had finished we sat in silence. None spoke. We just sat sorting out our thoughts.

"So why did you come here?" Pein asked finally.

"Inuyasha killed my friends in the past so I returned to the future. Mother, Souta, and grandpa had been murdered. I didn't know what I was going to do. Then I found out our mother had contacted Naruto. He got me and brought me here. They wanted me to be a ninja of Kohona. I didn't mind the ninja part but I hated Kohona. Then I ran into Itachi here and he asked if I wanted to join." Kagome said.

"Itachi and Kisame were on a scouting mission to try and find new members." Pein said. "I'm sorry about mom and them."

Kagome waved it off.

"I do not care. It is much easier with them gone. I don't have to act in front of them and I don't have to be held back by them. It is nice they are gone." She smiled.

Pein nodded. We sat in silence for again. I decided to speak.

"You didn't tell him of the curse Kagome."

Kagome stiffened and sat starring ahead. Pein scowled and looked at Kagome. Konan looked slightly interested.

"What curse Itachi?" He asked.

"Inuyasha cursed her. Just look at her back."

Pein looked at Kagome.

"Kagome…" He started.

"It is nothing." She tried to argue.

"Show me." He commanded.

"No." Kagome said.

"Show me or I'll make you." He said dangerously.

"No." Kagome said.

"Konan, Itachi." Pein said.

Before Kagome could say anything Konan and I held onto an arm each. She scowled and fought. We dragged her to the bed. We pinned her down and Konan pulled up the back of her shirt.

"Pein it isn't serious." Kagome said quietly.

We all examined the scar that read 'CURSED'. It was blood red at the moment. Pein reached out to touch it. I grabbed him by the wrist. He looked at me.

"If a man touches it, it gives her pain." I said.

He nodded and I let go of his wrist. Now Konan reached out and ran a finger over it.

"We could try to ruin the word." She suggested.

"The curse is in my blood. If you destroy the word it will return later." Kagome whispered.

We looked a moment longer. Then Pein nodded to us. We let Kagome go and she stood back up, pulling her shirt down.

"We won't tell anyone of this. It would be best not to tell any of them about your past either." Pein said.

Kagome nodded.

"And let's see how long we can keep the secret about us being siblings a secret."

Kagome nodded.

"Well I'm hungry. Let's go get some lunch." Pein said happily.

We all nodded.

"Oh and this is Konan." He said pointing to her.

"Nice to meet you, Konan." Kagome said.

Konan nodded.

"So are you Pein's girlfriend?" Kagome asked.

Pein smiled slightly and Konan looked blank but I saw a tinge of red in her cheeks. I smirked and walked out the door. The others followed.

Author's POV:

When they reached the Kitchen almost everyone was there. They seemed to be waiting for them. As they stepped in everyone fell silent and looked at them.

"What were you doing, un? You were in the room for over three hours, un." Deidara said.

"We were talking to our newest member Kagome." Pein said.

Everyone looked at Kagome.

"The plant man is Zetsu, the shark as you know is Kisame, the blonde bomb master is Deidara, the one with the mask is Kakuzu, the silver haired almost immortal man is Hidan, the red headed puppet master is Sasori, the raven haired masked man is Tobi, and you know Itachi and Konan." Pein said to Kagome.

Kagome bowed slightly.

"Nice to meet you all." She said with a dazzling smile.

More then half the men in the room turned a faint red and mumbled a hello. Itachi watched with a small amused smirk. Konan examined Kagome. 'It will be nice having another female if she lasts the week.' Most females were either eaten by Zetsu, sacrificed by Hidan to his god Jashin, made into a puppet by Sasori, seduced by Deidara and killed later by him and his bombs, killed by Itachi for chasing him, or had there throat ripped out by Pein if they tried to hurt Konan out of jealousy by the end of the first week. Konan looked into Kagome's eyes. They made her look kind, shy, pure, and soft. But if you looked deeper you knew she was as dangerous and as sharp as a knife. She still had a kind smile on her face. It made her look beautiful. Kagome seemed sensible, intelligent, and devious to Konan though. Like her brother.

Deidara looked the woman over. She was truly beautiful. She looked better now that she was in clean clothes. He wondered if she was a good cook. He looked at her face. She held a kind look in her eyes and it looked real enough but his senses told him to be careful. He smiled. It would be fun to try and seduce her.

Hidan looked the girl over, a smirk playing on his lips. She was young, perfect, and beautiful. She would make a lovely sacrifice to his lord Jashin. If she was a virgin it would be even better. He felt hungry and wondered if she would cook a meal first.

Zetsu watched her carefully. He smirked inwardly. She looked delicious. Not to thin, soft, and probably juicy. His dark size was drooling and his white side was telling him to be careful. The last female member they had eaten had given them a large bump on the head before they devoured her. And this woman seemed even more dangerous even if her eyes held a kind look.

Kakuzu looked her over and wondered if there was some way to use her to get money. Ideas started to fill his mind.

Tobi thought she was very pretty. 'Maybe she'll be Tobi's friend!' He thought hopefully. 'Maybe she could teach Tobi how too cook better before Zetsu eats her.'

Sasori looked her over with a bored look. She would make a lovely puppet. She looked flawless and pretty. She would be easy to subdue if she was as weak as she let on. He still got the feeling that she was incredibly dangerous. But even though he had that feeling he got the idea she was pure. Not tainted with evil at all. He looked deeper into her eyes and saw intelligence. He also saw a devious twinkle. Her soft smile almost held a smirk. He scowled slightly. She was more then she let on. Itachi, he noticed was also watching her slightly in caution. Konan seemed interested and Pein didn't give anything away. He decided to watch her from a distant for a while. He might even be able to make her a puppet before Zetsu or Hidan got her. If Deidara got her he could also get her off him when he was finished sleeping with her. He sat back wondering if she could cook.

Kagome stood watching them a smile on her lips. She was waiting for them to finish. When they seemed to lose some interest she looked around. The kitchen was perfectly clean for a bunch of criminals. She looked at Konan and knew she wasn't responsible. Konan struck her as a leader not as a person who cooked or cleaned. She looked at Pein who smiled softly at her.

"Want me to cook?" She asked.

"Yes." Everyone said quickly.

She smirked slightly. She walked to the cupboard as everyone sat down. She pulled out various items and started mixing and cooking. Tobi stayed right beside her, asking her a billion questions she ignored. The others still watched her closely as they chatted. Soon Kagome slammed plates of plain sandwiches and grilled cheese, and bowls of soups and salads. Everyone just blinked at the food.

"Are you going to just stare at it or eat?" Kagome finally asked.

They all slowly took some food even the Uchiha. They took a bite and their faces brightened. Soon they were eating heartily. Kagome grabbed half a sandwich and started to eat while watching in amusement. When everyone had finally eaten everything Kagome scooped the dishes and washed them in a flash. Then she put everything away and wiped up anything left. Everyone blinked then smiled. One thought ran through all there minds. 'I could get used to this.' Kagome watched them all a moment.

"So what are you best at genjutsu, taijutsu, or ninjutsu?" Sasori asked.

Kagome tilted her head.

"What are those?"

Everyone gaped.

"You don't know what those are, un?" Deidara finally chocked out.

Kagome shook her head.

"How did you get accepted as a member then?" Kakuzu asked.

"I know all weapons and I have some other… powers." She smirked.

Everyone shivered slightly at the smirk on her face. She looked like Itachi when she did that.

"So you're saying you're a weak woman who used her charm on Pein to get in." Hidan snorted.

A second later he was pinned to the wall by his throat. His feet dangled as he gripped at Kagome's one wrist trying to get free.

"I'm not weak, and Pein would never fall for anyone's 'charm', he isn't that weak. And I do not have to put up with your crap." She hissed.

Hidan shivered visible. Her tone was colder then Uchiha's if that was possible. He tried to suck in air again. He desperately needed some.

"Kagome let him go." Pein ordered.

Kagome glanced at him a moment. Then she threw the god loving man into the wall across the room. He twisted and his back crashed into the wall. He gasped and slumped to the ground. He struggled up clutching the wall. He shot Kagome a glare. She glared right back. After a second he looked away. Everyone was silent. Some were surprised that this delicate woman had picked up Hidan and thrown him across the room. Hidan stayed where he was. Everyone also stayed still. Except for Itachi, who shifted his weight, looking bored. Kagome finally looked at Pein.

"Whose partner am I?" She asked.

"Well Zetsu and Tobi are partners, Deidara and Sasori are partners, Kakuzu and Hidan are partners, Itachi and Kisame are partners, and Konan and I are partners. So I guess you are just an extra."

They could swear they heard her mutter 'I'm always an extra piece that isn't really needed.' She sighed finally.

"Fine."

"Now to find out where to put you… The only room that is free is the one that is connected to Itachi and Kisame's." He said.

Everyone saw Kisame grin. Everyone could swear they also heard a small sigh from Itachi but that was just nonsense.

"Oh you mean the one connected by the arch." Kagome said.

"Yeah." Pein said.

"Oh okay then." Kagome said.

Then Kagome smiled and walked up to Pein. She leaned up to his ear.

"Can I go back to my dimension to get some stuff?" She asked.

No one heard her but Pein.

"Yes. Well I have some paper work to do, later." Pein said walking away.

"I have some too." Konan said.

She slowly walked out the door.

"Damn paper work." They all heard her whisper with a scowl on her face before she was gone.

Kagome just stood there. As soon as we could no longer sense them near, she turned to Hidan and cracked her knuckles.

"Any other problems with me?" She asked menacingly.

Hidan scowled but slowly shook his head.

"Good."

Then she turned to the Uchiha and smiled. He just looked at her.

"Come on Itachi I need your help."

Everyone watched as the woman dragged Itachi away. By the look on his face he wasn't too happy about it.

Itachi's POV:

Kagome pulled me down the hall to our room. She stepped inside and looked out making sure no one was in sight. Then she shut the door and looked at me.

"I know you can open the portal. Will you open it for me?' she asked.

I blinked.

"If you combine it with my spiritual power you should be able to open it." She said.

I thought a moment.

"Fine, but only if we stay for the day and you show me around." I said.

I was curious about this other dimension.

"Deal." Kagome said.

I started to do the hand signs as Kagome summoned her spiritual power. As the blue portal opened Kagome put her spiritual power in it, directing it, strengthening it, and guiding it. She motioned me in and I stepped through. She followed closely. Everything was blue a moment. Then we touched down on a stone courtyard. I looked around. It was noon in this dimension too. We were in a large shrine. Kagome immediately walked towards the house. I followed.

I spotted the well house and knew that was the one Kagome had jumped through. He followed the girl into the house. It was empty. He saw a few blood stains they had failed to get out of the wood. She picked up a folded will on the table and walked upstairs. She packed a bunch of scrolls and books. She also grabbed some other things. Then she found a giant box of pictures in her mother room. She pulled out a couple then torched the rest. Then she changed and grabbed a purse. She looked at me.

"You are fine as you are but you have to take the ninja headband off and keep you're sharingan off."

I nodded and pulled my headband off. I slipped it into my pocket. Then we walked out the door. I stayed close to Kagome as she walked down the busy streets. She didn't say anything, she just hummed. After a while we stopped in front of a large white building. It read 'Bank' on the front. We walked in and to a small office. A man greeted us and asked us to sit down. Kagome and him launched into a discussion.

After a while he walked off. He returned with a briefcase and a folder. He set them down. Kagome signed some papers. The man took some and Kagome took some. Then she grabbed the brief case and we stood. We bowed slightly and walked out. As soon as we were back in the sun I looked at Kagome.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Money. I took all my money out of the bank and bought my shrine. It is mine for the next hundred years, no questions asked." She smirked.

I blinked and slowly nodded. We set off again. This time we stopped at a large building filled with books. Kagome told me to look around a she went to find something on the 'internet'. After about fifteen minutes she found me. She thanked a lady behind the desk and we walked out once again. She showed me around for a while telling me about the place and showing me buildings. After a while she sighed and said we'd better go get the book. This time when no people were in sight we sped off at ninja speed. After about an hour we were a distance from the city and in front of a large mansion. It was surrounded by large stone walls. Kagome walked and spoke to a guard at the front door. He nodded and one of the other guards trotted towards the mansion. We stood waiting.

"Why are we here?" I asked finally.

"I want a certain book. I found out the only copy is owned by Sesshomaru Taisho; the largest business tycoon and richest man alive. He is the old demon lord of the west so I thought I could maybe work something out with him." She said.

"What did you tell the guard? I doubt anyone can just get into this place." I said.

"I told him to tell 'Lord' Sesshomaru an old friend named Kagome was by to see him. The guards are demons in disguise and only demons or such know he is a lord so I must be a demon or something. And if a demon wants to talk to lord Sesshomaru they usually get the chance since he's in charge of dealing with all the problems." She said.

I nodded and we continued to wait. After a few minutes a teen girl came skipping out. She looked to be the age of Kagome but I sensed she wasn't human. She had cat eyes and claws and fangs. She smiled at Kagome.

"Hello Kagome. Remember me?" The girl asked.

Kagome blinked.

"I could swear you sound like Rin and look like her but you are a demon."

The girl giggled.

"Sesshomaru found out a way to make me a demon. I became a cat Youkai." She giggled.

Kagome smiled.

"Well it's nice to see you again."

"Yeah. I'm happy to see you too."

"Can we see Sesshomaru?"

"Yes."

She waved to a guard who smiled and opened the gate. We both stepped in and followed Rin down the driveway. When we stepped into the large house we were found by a green imp like thing. He was carrying a staff with a head of a woman and a head of an old man. He scowled.

"You again?!" He asked Kagome.

"Nice to see you too Jaken." Kagome smiled.

"Nothing nice about it, wench! I thought you had long since died. I wish you were dead."

He started to swing his staff at Kagome. Kagome just laughed and stepped out of the way.

"You should be nice Jaken." Rin said.

"Humph." The imp said walking away.

"I can't believe Sesshomaru didn't kill him long ago." Kagome said.

"He almost did, numerous times." Rin giggled.

We followed the girl up a flight of stairs to a room. She knocked and a voice told us to come in. in opened the doors for us. When we were in she shut them leaving Kagome and I alone with a man. He was sitting in a large desk. He had long silver hair down to his lower back. He turned and looked at us. I saw gold eyes. He also had two purple stripes and a crescent moon on his face. It was markings man.

"I wondered when we would meet again." He said.

Kagome sighed.

"Any particular reason for your visit?" He asked.

"I need a book you have."

"Need?" the man asked. "Or want?"

"Need." Kagome said blandly.

"What book?"

"The book of forbidden curses."

Sesshomaru's eyes sharpened and he went cold. He scowled.

"Why that book?"

"I need to break one of the curses. To do that I need to learn about it."

"Who cursed you?"

"You're half brother Inuyasha."

"When?"

"Right after he killed the others."

"What curse?"

"The 'death release' curse. The only thing I know about it is that it won't let me die and if I lie with any man it will give me more pain then imaginable."

Sesshomaru glanced at me.

"And you wish to lie with this man?"

Kagome laughed.

"No. I just want to die sometime."

"Do you deserve death?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I killed Koga, Kikyo, Kohaku, and I used all my friends. I also planned to use them till their use ran out."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow in a bit of surprise.

"Mh."

"May I borrow the book?"

He looked at me again.

"He is a ninja from the other dimension?"

"Yes. I am going to stay there too; with my brother. I have joined their criminal organization. And you are avoiding my question."

"I am not avoiding it. I am just getting all the facts."

Kagome sighed.

"Let me see the curse."

Kagome sighed again and turned her back facing him. She pulled the shirt up and he looked at it.

"And why did Inuyasha give you this?"

"He told me he needed to keep me alive until he found away to switch my soul for Kikyo's. He also wished to torture me for killing her."

"Mh."

"So the book?"

"You may have it as long as you swear to never to give it to anyone.

"I swear on my soul."

Sesshomaru stood up and walked past us. I glanced at Kagome who nodded and followed. Kagome followed right behind me. We walked down a couple of halls until we reached a large door. We walked through into a large room of shelves. We walked to the last one. Sesshomaru looked at a large book. It looked really old. It was surrounded by a blue orb.

"I had to keep it behind a demon barrier. Like a miko barrier but made of demon energy." He explained.

As he reached up the barrier disappeared. He grabbed the book handing it to Kagome. Kagome took it and looked at him with thanks in her eyes.

"I also want to give you some weapons." He said.

Kagome smiled. We once again followed him through some halls to a dojo. We stepped in and walked to a door at the far end. As we walked into the door I noticed thousands of weapons. Kagome and I stopped. He walked to a wall and picked up an axe, a couple daggers, a scythe, and a sword. Then he found a long staff with two feet of sharp steel on the end. He handed it to Kagome also. And finally he pulled a fan and a mirror from a shelf. Kagome looked at them.

"Kagura's fan and Kanna's mirror?" She asked.

The demon lord nodded.

"Thank you."

"They are thanks for giving me the Tetsusaiga. Can you carry them all?" He asked.

She smiled. Then she gathered her miko powers. I stepped back. Her powers made the hair on my neck stand up. Suddenly the weapons were all surrounded by blue. They became glows. They shot to Kagome's wrist. Slowly the glow faded. Sesshomaru and I both stepped closer. I saw now that she was wearing a charm bracelet. But the charms were all weapons. I saw a miniature axe and staff like the ones Sesshomaru had given her.

"I can shrink my weapons and make them charms. I also have Kaede's bow, Sango's Hiraikotsu, Shippo's top, and Miroku's staff." She said.

We both nodded. Then Sesshomaru shooed us from the room. Kagome sighed when we were back in the halls.

"We have to go now Sesshomaru."

"I see. I hope to see you again."

Kagome smiled and bowed. I did the same minus the smile. Then we turned and walked away. As we left the place we took off with ninja speed. Kagome was silent and held the book close to her along with the brief case she still carried. When we finally reached the shrine it was almost getting to be dinner. Kagome grabbed her bags and opened the portal. We stepped through back into our rooms. We dumped Kagome's stuff in her room.

We noticed that someone had got a bed, nightstand, shelf, and dresser into it. They were arranged and made neatly. We looked a moment. Then Kagome headed for the kitchen. I followed. When we entered the kitchen Tobi was sitting at the table his chin in his hands and his legs swinging back and forth. I always wondered how he had joined Akatsuki. He perked up as Kagome walked in. He jumped up and skipped over.

"Can Tobi help Kagome make dinner?" He asked.

"Sure Tobi." She smiled.

He clapped his hands and danced to the counter with her. As they started to cook I sat down and watched. Kagome seemed like a mother almost. She seemed kind, caring, and loving at the moment as she cooked with Tobi. She laughed, hummed, and smiled. She seemed happy but I wondered if she really was. He watched closely. She glanced at me once in a while but I could read nothing in her eyes. They were blank. Not as empty as before but still blank.

After a while the puppet master joined us. He sat down at the table too and observed Kagome. He was one of the more intelligent people in Akatsuki and he knew Kagome was someone to be wary of. I noticed he seemed to be planning something too and I wondered what. After a while the others also started to drift in. They either chatted or studied Kagome. When Hidan walked in he edged around Kagome. Kagome turned to him and I saw him visibly tense.

Kagome just gave him a radiant smile. He blinked but calmed and sat down. When everyone was sitting Kagome set all the food out. We all dug in still talking once in a while. It was nice to have actual food. Tobi's hadn't been very good and I didn't like to cook that much so rarely did. This was one of the best meals the others had had too. I had cooked for myself but only once for them.

As we ate I noticed Kagome still stayed by the counter with only a small amount of food. She watched as if she wasn't welcome at the table. She glanced at the chair but didn't sit. She looked like she wanted to sit but wouldn't be welcome too. I just ignored it. It wasn't my problem. When we were finished she once again cleaned up quickly. Everyone headed for there rooms or somewhere and I motioned Kagome to follow us to our room. Kisame also came. We walked into her half. I leaned against a wall. And Kisame sat on the bed. Kagome unpacked her bag quickly. One thing I noticed was she stuffed the book and brief case under her bed and surrounded them with a barrier. Kisame finally spoke.

"So where did you two go this afternoon?" He asked.

I gave him a look that said nothing important.

"My dimension. I had to grab a few things and Itachi wanted to look around." Kagome said without looking at us and with no emotion.

"Hmm." Kisame said.

"Since you stay pretty much in the same room as us there are rules." I said blandly. "One, do not bother me without due reason or you will regret it. Two, do not mess anything up, if you do clean it up, or I will make you regret it. Three, do not step in my half unless going out the door or once again I will make you regret it. Four, give me cause to think of you as a threat and I will make you regret it. Five, you may invite people in but if they do not follow the rules and you fail to enforce them I will make you regret it." I said coldly.

Kagome nodded with a small smile. I walked back to my half of the room. I sat on my bed, my back against the wall, and my arms crossed. I could still hear Kisame though.

"Be careful around him Kagome."

"I will. Don't worry I have met many people as cold and dangerous as him and lived."

"Hmm. Make sure you follow the rules, and remember them because he won't say them again."

The shark man came walking out a minute later. I watched him as he hurried across my side of the room to his. I looked at my alarm clock. It was seven thirty. I almost sighed. I wondered what I could do for the next while. I was going to grab my book when suddenly I saw a glow come from Kagome's room. Kisame also saw it. We looked at one another. Then I glided to the arch. I looked in. Kisame came up a second later.

Kagome was sitting on her bed. Her air was floating off of her slightly. Her eyes were closed and she sat cross legged. Seven glowing spheres of color floated in a ring around her. Kisame and I watched with interest. The spheres bobbed up and down as they spun slowly around her. It felt peaceful just watching. Suddenly the red sphere fell from the ring and spun quickly and tightly, up around Kagome. When it spun up over her head, it burst like a small fireworks. It sent red sparks showering down on Kagome. She now wore a small smile.

"Power." She whispered.

The orange sphere did the same thing. As it burst her smile grew.

"Strength."

Next came the yellow sphere.

"Courage." She whispered.

Green came next.

"Energy."

The blue next.

"Purity."

Then came the indigo one. Her smile still grew with each burst of color.

"Health."

Then finally the violet. As it burst Kagome's smile faded.

"Love." She barely whispered.

Suddenly five more ones sprang up around her and her smile returned. These were mixes of colors or different shades. They spun tightly around her quickly.

"Sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell."

The five burst together. Instantly four more sprang up, again.

"Healing."

One burst.

"Fighting."

Another burst.

"Defending."

Another burst.

"Sacrificing."

The last burst. Then a larger white sphere gathered in front of Kagome. She cupped her hands under it. It seemed pure. Its glow was more intense then all the others combined. It hovered then fell to Kagome's hands like a drop of water. As soon as it hit her hands it filled her cupped hands like water. She opened her eyes. They had a distant look. As if she wasn't here but in her mind and soul. Suddenly some drops of the white fell from nowhere. They rippled in the 'light' in her hands. I heard soft sobbing fill the room. Suddenly a small outline of a person floated above her hands. The tears came from the soft glowing figure. The woman looked a lot like Kagome but different. I recognized her as dog boy's lover. I could hear faint sobs.

"Why do you cry?" Came Kagome's voice.

"Because…" The figure started.

I blinked. It didn't sound like Kagome either. I couldn't believe it actually talked either.

"Because you are filled with hate. You killed the other part of me. You killed my love. You don't have any purpose to live for. You are empty besides your hate. Do not become like me." She sobbed.

The small figure woman fell to her knees. She tried to wipe the tears, but they continued to fall. I recognized her outfit as that of a miko.

"Why would I become like you Kikyo?" Kagome asked.

I blinked. I knew Kikyo was dead. Kagome had said she had part of her soul. 'This must be the part of Kikyo's soul.' I thought. 'But how is it talking to Kagome?'

"You will become with me. You will. Don't. I died full of hate and you saw what happened. I became a vengeful woman wandering the earth as one of the undead. I do not wish the same to happen to my incarnation. You don't deserve it." She sobbed.

"Maybe I do. I killed Inuyasha, you, Kohaku, Koga, and others. I also used people."

"But that is not what you wanted. You were always pure and nice. It only happened because of Inuyasha. He was the one who beat you. And Naraku was the one who taunted you. Do not think it your fault. It is Inuyasha's fault you are like this." The small woman sobbed.

Kagome seemed to soften.

"I know it is partly Inuyasha's fault but I still shouldn't have done all that. There is no going back. I have done things that can not be undone." Kagome whispered.

The woman stopped sobbing. She looked up at Kagome. She still had tears in her eyes. She stood and wiped some tears away, but they still flowed. Then she reached out for Kagome. Tears still streamed over her cheeks.

"I know. Guard it well. I will give you my knowledge. Will you free me?" The woman asked.

"I will search for a way."

"If you need me you know what to do. I'm truly sorry Inuyasha did that to you. Do not curse him though. He did have some good. He just made some wrong choices. Please try to forgive him." She gave a small watery smile. "Try to live happily. The chance was stolen from me but you still have the choice."

The woman started to fade.

"Bye Kikyo." Kagome said.

The woman smiled through her tears. When the woman was gone Kagome opened her hands. The 'light' fell like water but vanished before it hit the bed. Kagome looked up at Kisame and me. Her eyes showed confusion, hurt, and emptiness.

"I see you are confused. Come here."

We both obeyed, wanting answers. She stood up beside us and rested a hand on each of our foreheads. I blinked and suddenly I was watching something. It was like watching a movie. I blinked as I saw Kagome jump from a well. I realized these were her memories. We started to jump through her memories. We gained a lot of knowledge. It was nice to finally understand a lot of stuff. When we finally finished I blinked again. We were back in the room. Kisame also blinked and looked at Kagome with new respect in his eyes.

"That was real?" He asked.

Kagome nodded.

"So that glowing woman was Kikyo, or the part if her soul in you?" I asked.

"Yes. We talk like that once in a while. I haven't found out away to release her part of the soul yet or I would." She said.

"The fist part was meditation?" I asked.

Kagome nodded. Then she yawned. She looked at her clock along with me. It said nine. I blinked. We had been here for and hour and a half watching memories. I saw Kagome blink sleepily.

"Don't tell the others about my past Kisame, please." Kagome said.

Kisame nodded solemnly. We looked at each other a moment. Kisame left a second later and headed for his own bed. I stayed with Kagome.

"You didn't show us or tell us anything about Inuyasha beating you." I said.

Kagome flinched.

"Whatever do you mean?' she asked.

"Kikyo said Inuyasha beat you." I said.

Kagome winced. She looked away.

"You do not have to tell me." I said.

My tone said I wanted to know though. I wondered why I wanted to know and I decided curiosity had got me.

"After a couple years he started to get mad that I was weak and he constantly compared me to Kikyo. He thought I should be like her. Everything I did seemed to remind him of her, and remind him I was not her. He seemed to remember that because I was alive, Kikyo was only the living dead. Everything I did started to anger him. When the others weren't around he would take the anger out on me. He said it was lessons for me. He said he was teaching me to defend myself and to get stronger. But he always attacked me never telling me anything or giving me a chance to learn." She gave a nervous laugh. "If my friends had found out they would have killed him but I always healed myself of he would beat me until I did so they didn't find out. He also threatened me and threatened me using them. If I had told them he would have fought them and he would have most likely have won. So I kept quiet." She gave another laugh. "I almost died about sixteen times if I remember correctly. Just my miko powers saved me. Once he even stabbed his whole arm through my stomach. If my miko powers hadn't healed me automatically I would have died in minutes."

I looked at the woman. She didn't seem like someone who had gone through that. But now I saw how she had got at least a little twisted.

"But in the end I just ran. I said I was going to train. I did train. By the time I returned Kikyo had joined and Inuyasha just ignored me. I was almost thankful that she had joined, even if I still had to put up with Inuyasha's comparisons or me and her and her word abuse. That was actually a blessing compared to what he did. To sum it up I went to train and when I returned Kikyo was with us, I didn't love my friends so they couldn't be used a threats, and I could stand up to Inuyasha."

She smiled nervously again. I knew just talking about it was making her nervous. She looked around a lot and was fidgety, as if frightened Inuyasha had heard, and was still alive, coming for her. I felt some pity for her. I nodded. Then I turned and headed back to my room. I hadn't even made it to the arch when a hand on my arm stopped me. I looked at Kagome.

"Thank you." She said.

Her eyes showed that she truly meant it.

"For what?" I asked.

"You found me and brought me here. It gave me a new chance at life. If you hadn't I would have stayed in Kohona for a little while then left to live my life in misery."

I looked into her eyes. They were perfectly clear and almost full of emotion. She seemed to be getting rid of the emptiness. Though there was some still there. I studied her a moment.

"When you were doing your meditation you brightened at every sphere but wilted at love. Why?" I asked.

She smiled softly, but sadly.

"Each sphere represented something. The more I had of each the happier I felt. But I have no love in my life."

I looked at her.

"Why?" I asked.

"I loved Inuyasha but after a year I gave up on him. I actually always loved him. Even when he beat me and killed my friends I still held love for him. My love was the reason I hadn't killed him earlier. Love is the reason my friends are dead. I have already learned from that. I doubt I will love again. What has happened will always serve as a reminder of what became because of my love." She said softly.

I smirked slightly. That was what I had experienced long ago. Love was out of my life now too.

"Why did you kiss the copy ninja then?" I asked.

"Desire, and love are two different things." Was all she said.

Then she turned and walked to her bed. I smirked softly and glided up behind her. I leaned down and breathed on her neck. She slowly tensed.

"So you have desire but no love?" I asked in her ear.

"I have little desire but do indulge in harmless things once in a while." I said.

I smirked again.

"So I am guessing you are no longer a virgin. Hidan will be so disappointed."

"No. I am still a virgin." She sighed.

I raised an eyebrow with a small smirk still on my lips. I walked back and out the door. I loved to pry into peoples lives.

--

When I woke in the morning I saw Kisame still asleep. I realized I woke up early like usual. Yesterday had been one day I had slept in. I had felt peaceful and had been in need of a long sleep. I blinked as I heard the water in the bathroom running though. I blinked and wondered who it was until I remembered Kagome shared a bathroom with us. After a while the water turned off and I heard the door in Kagome's room open softly. A second later she popped into our room. Her hair was dripping wet and gathered in a messy bun. She only had a towel around her again. But I still wasn't complaining.

"Itachi should I wear clothes to train in?" She asked.

I nodded.

"It's a good idea not to wear any uncomfortable clothes anytime, even if they are fashionable." I said.

Then I looked her over as she nodded.

"So why do I keep seeing you in a towel?" I asked.

She sniffed.

"You saw me once a second time won't matter and I had to ask you the question before I got dressed." She said.

I snorted softly. She walked back to her room. I, myself, got up and headed for the bathroom. When I walked in I found it perfectly clean and organized, even more then usual. The only evidence that Kagome had, had a shower was small drops of water in the shower. I smiled a bit. At least she would keep the place organized, unlike Kisame. I stripped and jumped into the water. After a few minutes I jumped back out and dried off quickly. When I was dressed I headed back into our room.

Kisame was still asleep. He was lying flat, and completely stretched out on the bed and snoring. I smirked slightly in amusement. I didn't feel Kagome's presence in her room so I guessed she was in the kitchen or something. I walked out of the room and headed down the hall. I was going to go grab some breakfast but stopped when I sensed Kagome in the library. I guessed she had found it and decided to look around. She struck me as intelligent and a lover of books. I looked in and looked around.

The library was huge. It was tall too. The shelves were about ten metres high. There were at least fifty of them if not some where around a hundred. Some had ladders so you could reach the top books but with the height I could jump there was no need for them. All the walls where deep green and there were plants everywhere. The plants rested in between books, on the floor, hanging from the ceiling. They made the place seem like a jungle. You couldn't see more then five feet in front of you before you only saw leaves. Light came from large lights on the roof that lit up every square inch of the place.

The shelves where somehow connected to the floor too so they couldn't fall over. The tops of the shelves were a nice place to stay. There was at least another ten metres from the top of them to the ceiling. They acted like paths and nice places to rest. There were even benches on a couple. I guessed a lot of the people who came to the library sat up on them. There was no room on the ground because of the shelves so it worked out perfect.

Most of the shelves were full of books too. Some were common books and others were rare. I sensed Kagome near the back of the library and walked towards her. I looked at the plants as I walked. They were all watered by Zetsu who came in once every week to water them. They seemed healthier and fuller at the moment though. I guessed Kagome and her miko were responsible for that. I smiled slightly. When I finally reached Kagome she had ten books in her arms. I saw three were on ninja history, one on medic jutsus and such, one on ninjutsu, one on genjutsu, one on taijutsu, one on the soul and two on curses. I scowled. I hadn't seen the curse ones before.

I glanced around. The jutsu on the library kept those not wanted out but it also did other things. I hadn't found out what jutsu it was. It had been put on long ago though and almost seemed unbreakable. Actually there was more then one jutsu on the room. There were so many over lapped that it was impossible to tell how many were on it. The newest one was the one we focused on though. One of the other things I had found out about the library though was it disguised books that it didn't want certain people to see. I had seen Konan looking at one of paper creations and origami from a section I had passed by everyday and had never spotted the books.

It made me a bit uneasy. It was like the library had a mind of its own. She looked at me and smiled. Then she walked past me back towards the door. I followed. I looked around as we walked. One book grabbed my attention near the door. It was an old red bound book. I looked at it a moment. I was sure I had never seen it before. It was bright red in a section of deep green books so I would have remembered it. I shivered slightly and grabbed it. The title was 'The Shikon No Tama and the Shikon No Miko'. I glanced at Kagome who was walking through the door. She had said her jewel was the Shikon no tama and that she was the Shikon no miko.

I slipped the small red book into my pouch and walked after Kagome. If the library had shown me the book there was a good reason for it. I quietly, but quickly, slipped from the library and headed for the kitchen. I found Kagome already cooking. She had set her books at the end of the counter and I saw a small barrier just barely able to bee seen surrounding them. I watched as Kagome cooked.

"Why did you not sit at the table yesterday?" I asked, deciding to break the silence.

"I did not think I was welcome." She said.

"You might not have been but it doesn't mater." I said.

Kagome smiled at me from over her shoulder then returned to cooking. The first person to enter the kitchen was Tobi. He skipped in happily.

"Hello Kagome." He sang.

"Hello Tobi. Will you go wake the others for me? Tell them if they want breakfast they have to have their lazy asses in here in ten minutes." Kagome said.

"Okay Kagome. Tobi will tell them. Tobi is a good boy."

"Yes Tobi is a good boy, now run off."

Tobi nodded and ran off. I smirked slightly. Kagome returned to finishing off her cooking. She started to slide plates of pancakes, French toast, waffles, eggs, bacon and sausages, and toast onto the table. She also set down jugs of water and orange juice, with a pot of tea. Then she set the places. By the time she was finished Kisame, Konan, and Pein walked in. They blinked at the food. Then without a word sat down and dug in. I also grabbed some food. Zetsu, Deidara, and Sasori came in next and also started to eat without a word. Hidan and Kakuzu came in with Tobi last. When they walked in Kagome sat beside me and waved Tobi over. He skipped over as the other two sat down. Tobi sat right beside Kagome. Kagome smiled at him and shoved a plate of food to him. He laughed.

"Is Tobi a good boy?" He asked looking at her.

"You are a good boy Tobi." She said patting his head slightly.

Tobi cheered slightly and then sat beside Kagome quietly. I smirked slightly as I ate slowly. Kagome was treating him like a child. It was quite amusing to watch. He looked down at his food, then at Kagome.

"Tobi is going to eat somewhere else." He said.

Then he grabbed his food and skipped off. Everyone paused a second and watched him skip away.

"Have any of you seen what he looks like under the mask?" Kagome asked softly starting to eat.

"No." Everyone chorused.

There was silence as everyone ate the delicious food. As we were finishing the last of the food off Kagome stood up and started to clean. We just sat and talked or just sat. Suddenly Hidan stood up and walked to Kagome's piles of books. He started to look over them.

"Why do you have some fucking books on curses?" He asked.

Everyone glanced up. Kagome just winced slightly.

"So I can curse those who curse too much." She said.

Now Hidan winced and took a step back muttering curses under his breath. Then he slowly stepped forwards and reached to take one. He pulled his arm back quickly as he hit the barrier. He scowled. Everyone was watching now. Kagome smirked.

"What is that around the books, un?" Deidara asked.

"Barrier." Kagome said.

Everyone blinked. There were such things as barrier jutsus so most of the others shrugged.

"I thought you didn't know jutsus." The smarter Sasori said.

Kagome sighed.

"You know I don't think it is much of your business." Kagome said.

Sasori snorted softly in amusement.

"Well it is my business if you're going to fucking curse me." Hidan said.

"No it's not. Besides I wasn't going to curse you. I was just teasing." She said.

Hidan scowled and sat back down. The others snickered.


	30. Marriage! : Harry Potter

Hermione ran down the dungeon halls. Her brown bushy hair was wild and waving. Her robes had a few tares and were dirtied. She didn't stop running even as she stumbled almost falling on the rough stone floor. She heard some voices and started to panic. She opened the first door she spotted. Luckily it was unlocked. She hurried in shutting the door behind her. She looked around and paled slightly. She had run right into Snape's class room. Luckily it was well past dinner on the night before Christmas break so there were no classes. Snape wasn't there either. Hermione didn't wait another second before she ran to the end of the classroom and dived under one of the desks. She pulled her knees into herself and hugged them to her chest. She made sure that if anyone walked in they wouldn't see her. Hermione held back the tears determined not to let a single drop.

"Care to explain what you are doing in my class Miss Granger?" Came a silky smooth voice.

.--.

Hermione's head whipped up to stare at Snape. Snape looked down at her annoyance and slight curiosity on his face. Snape looked the seventh year know-it-all, over. He scowled more slightly. Her robes were dirty and torn. And she had tears in her eyes but she wasn't letting them fall. She opened her mouth to answer when the door to the room swung open. Snape looked up and glared at Potter and Weasely who had run in. They saw him and froze.

"What is it Potter?" Snape sneered.

"We were looking for Hermione. We're worried about her." Potter muttered.

Snape had the nagging suspicion that they hadn't been worried about her. He glanced discreetly at the now trembling girl under the desk. He blinked at the look of pleading in her eyes.

"I have not seen Miss Granger." Snape drawled. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for entering my class without knocking. Now leave."

The two glared at him but quickly left. As soon as the door clicked shut Snape looked back at Granger. She was trembling slightly.

"Thank you." She half sobbed.

Now Snape was curious and puzzled. He wondered why she was thankful he had sent the two off.

"Stand up Granger." Snape snapped.

The girl slowly crawled out from under his desk and stood up.

"Care to tell me why you are running from those two?" He sneered.

Hermione just looked at the ground.

"…"

Snape was getting irritated but he wished to know why she was hiding. And as a professor, no matter how he loathed it, he had to make sure she was fine. His arm snaked out and grabbed her arm. She gasped in pain and tried to pull away. Snape didn't let go though. He slowly slid her sleeve up her arm and his eyes widened slightly. Her arm was covered in bruises. He looked up at her to see her trying to control her tears. He looked down at her legs and saw bruises on them too. He knew this was serious now.

"What happened, Granger?" He asked.

She just bit her lip and stayed silent. Snape wanted to snarl in impatience. He just turned still holding her arm and half dragged her out of the room. She stumbled to keep up. Once Snape reached his room doors he gave the password and stepped in dragging granger with him. Once inside he pulled her to his sitting room. He rudely motioned her to a chair. He grabbed a glass of pumpkin juice and added a small healing potion to rid her of the bruises and. She took it looking shocked and scared. Snape walked to a chair across from her and dropped down on it. He rubbed his temples. He really didn't want Granger in his rooms but in her condition he knew something was up and wished to know what. She held the glass of juice in her hands her eyes darting around the green and black rooms. Finally she looked at her feet. Snape observed her from over his clasped hands.

"Tell me why you are hurt Granger." He said calmly.

Granger looked up at him but immediately averted her eyes. He could see she hadn't even taken a sip of her drink.

"Have a drink granger." He said.

She glanced at the glass hesitantly lifting it.

"It has a healing potion in it. It is not poisoned." He rolled his eyes.

"I wouldn't much care if it was." She muttered.

Snape's eyebrows shot above his hair line as he starred at her. She took a large gulp of her juice. She had practically said she didn't care if she died. He knew the exams and school were tough in your final year, but to not care if you died? Snape waited till she finished off the juice.

"Why do you wish to die?" He asked.

She looked up at him and he was surprised to find sorrow and anger in her eyes.

"Why do you fucking care?" She spat.

Now Snape was practically gaping at her. The perfect know-it-all, head girl, had sweared.

"Fifty points from-" He started.

"I don't give a damn about house points. Take them all if you want." She half yelled

Snape starred at her.

"Tell me what is wrong Granger." He said finally.

"Only if you tell me why you care." She said quietly.

"I don't care much. But it is my duty as a professor to make sure the students are safe and healthy." He said.

She looked up at him then away.

"Now answer my question." He said.

Granger starred at her feet.

"I don't care if I die, that does not mean I'm going to try and die." She whispered.

"Why don't you care then?" He sighed.

"Because I have no friends, everyone hates me, Krum left me, and my life is ruined."

Snape just starred at her a moment. He saw a tear run down her cheek.

"Why?" He asked.

"Why don't I have any friends? Many reasons. Why does everyone hate me? Many reasons. Why did Krum leave me? Same reasons I don't have any friends." She said slowly.

"Why is your life ruined?" Snape asked.

"Because… I doubt I will be finishing school and I doubt I have any future in which I am happy." She half sobbed half laughed.

Now Snape was actually getting worried.

"What is this about you future?" He asked.

"You know that marriage law the ministry put into effect?"

Snape nodded. It stated every witch that was eighteen or older had to get married. Because the number of wizards was at an all time low, Voldemort had killed off some of the strongest in the war, and not as many witches were marrying. And if the witch refused her magic would be taken away and she would be thrust into the muggle world.

"But you are seventeen, Granger. The law doesn't affect you for a year." Snape drawled.

"You remember in our third year I had a time turner."

Snape's eyes widened.

"The ministry has added that time onto my age. I'm over eighteen in their eyes." She said.

Snape starred at her.

"So you have to get married. That doesn't ruin you future happiness." He said.

"Oh but it does. I have to pick a husband in three days. I can only marry a wizard who sends a petition to the headmaster. And very few know I'm on the list of single witches. "

"Get the wizard you like to petition for you then." He said.

"Who?"

"Ronald Weasely."

"He's marrying Lavender. He doesn't love me."

"Potter?"

"Marrying Ginny."

"Longbottom?"

"Marrying Luna."

Snape couldn't think of anyone else close to Granger.

"I would ask George and Fred but at the moment they are somewhere in France trying to get over the war. Then there is Remus but he still hasn't gotten over Tonks death. Some people have already sent petitions too. I'm now forced to decide between the one's who have asked for my hand."

Snape just shrugged.

"So who asked for you hand?" He asked curiously.

"Two people I hate." She sobbed.

He frowned.

"Who?"

"Percy Weasely is one."

Snape made a face. He had detested that kid more then Granger, Weasely, and Potter put together. He had been an insufferable know-it-all, but he had also been haughty, arrogant, proud, snobby, and boastful. Snape made a disgusted noise.

"And Theodore Nott is the second."

"I seriously hope you won't accept that one."

Snape was being truthful. Nott's family had been very loyal to Voldemort and would most definitely hurt Granger. They would probably break her within the first week. Granger may have grated on his nerves a lot, but Snape didn't want to attend her funeral.

"Pick Percy." He said.

"I won't." She said desperately.

"He's the best choice."

"I'd rather take Nott."

Now Snape starred at her.

"What is wrong with Percy?" He asked.

"He is very old fashioned. He believes women should have no rights and stay at home. I already have a letter from him telling me what my roles would be if I married him. He says I would stay at the house, cook his meals, bare his children, clean the house, and do some of the shopping. I would not be allowed to continue my education here, and I will not be getting a job. I get the idea he doesn't want me to leave the house. Or even use my magic." She said.

Snape starred at her a minute. Some women wouldn't mind being a house wife but he knew for Granger it would be worse then death. He watched her a minute. Then he glanced at the clock.

"I suggest you head to your room for bed." He drawled.

She nodded and bowed her head before sprinting from the room.

"Severus you don't understand the half that is going on with that girl."

Snape spun and realized it was just a portrait with a man from the head masters room, whom travelled to Snape's room at times.

"What do you mean?" Snape sneered.

"Follow her and you'll find out you don't understand the half of her suffering."

The man in the painting walked from the frame. Snape guessed he was heading back to his portrait in the head masters office. Snape slowly stood and sighed. He was slightly curious, for reasons above him, about the bruises on Granger and he still hadn't found out if she was fine, neglecting his duties. He sighed again and swept from his office. He walked down the hall quickly hoping to find the girl. He hadn't even made it to the main floor when he heard a loud yelp. He walked around a corner and starred. Hermione was curled up on the ground as Ron Weasely kicked her hard in the stomach. Harry and Ginny nearby laughed. Ron snickered.

"Can't even take a kick? You are a coward and a weakling." Ron barked.

Hermione just curled up tighter whimpering. Suddenly Snape spotted Nott. He laughed and walked up beside Potter.

"So who are you going to marry mudblood? Me or Weasely's brother?" He sneered.

Hermione didn't answer.

"You should consider yourself lucky that our family will even let you marry our brother.' Ginny snarled.

Snape was very surprised, as Harry hauled Hermione to her feet and Ginny slapped her. Nott was obviously amused. Suddenly Ron grabbed her wand. Hermione gasped as he laughed looking it over.

"Since you won't need this, no mater who you marry I might as well get rid of it for you."

Hermione yelled out and tried to grab her wand but Harry and Ginny held her back. Ran made a move to snap it in half, as Harry and Ginny threw Hermione to the floor. Suddenly McGonagall rounded the corner. Everyone froze but soon smiled.

"What is going on here?" The stern woman asked scowling.

"Hermione fell and I was just handing her, her wand." Ron smiled sweetly.

"How kind of you." McGonagall said smiling back slightly.

"No they were going to snap it." Hermione said frantically.

"Don't lie to me granger." McGonagall snapped.

Snape was a bit surprised with her tone. She seemed to believe Weasely over the head girl.

"I can't believe I made you head girl. I should have known you lied so much. And I bet you cheated on all you quizzes. How else would you get them all right?"

Hermione started to protest. McGonagall glared at her shutting her up.

"Don't lie." She snarled. "Now tell me the truth. Did you cheat on your quizzes and lie to me?"

"No professor!" Hermione yelled.

"Don't you dare raise your tone to me! Give me your badge. You no longer need it since I'm stripping you of your rank."

Hermione gave her a cold glare that even impressed Snape. She ripped it off and threw it at McGonagall. She turned to leave but Ginny tripped her. She landed with a thud. McGonagall didn't seem to care as she stomped of the badge in hand. Once she was out of sight Nott, who Hermione had landed beside, gave a cruel smirk. He pulled out his wand and levelled it with the girl.

"What is going on?" Snape asked stepping in.

Everyone froze again but Nott smiled self assured, he was Slytherin, Snape was always on Slytherin's side.

"She threatened me." He said.

Snape jut glared at all of them.

"I think punishment is in order then. Granger grab you wand and follow me."

Granger grabbed her wand and followed Snape emotionlessly down the hall. He sighed inaudibly once again as he had to lead her back into his sitting room. He wondered why he didn't just leave her out there but somehow he felt sympathy for her. He motioned her to the chair. She tucked her wand away.

"Tell me what happened to make them turn on you." Snape said.

Hermione looked at him.

"I disappeared the night Hogwarts was attacked."

Snape scowled slightly.

"They all thought I had run. They felt betrayed and thought I was a coward. They said if I hadn't run then people like Tonks would still be alive. And it seems somehow that one of the death eaters took my appearance while attacking and they all thought I was under the imperious curse and was too weak to fight it. They labelled me as a weakling, a coward, and a traitor. They easily spread the word. Since Harry defeated Voldemort he is highly respected and everyone believes him." She whispered. "And since Harry doesn't like me no one else does. Even McGonagall doesn't trust me. I told her the truth and she thinks I'm lying to get fame."

Snape raised a brow.

"And what did you tell her?"

"That I cast some spells." Hermione muttered looking at the floor.

"What kind of spells?"

"Protection and healing spells." She said.

"And what did they do?"

"You know how suddenly during the fight Pomfrey said the wounded started to heal better and hang on for longer. She said it was a miracle. I cast a spell to help the dieing and wounded."

Snape's eyes widened. He remembered walking into the great hall to see dead and dying laying every where. Everyone was sure most would die. But then suddenly they had started to heal better and the healers had felt full of energy. They had all said it was a pure miracle from god.

"I cast that spell and one of protection."

"What type of protection spell?" Snape asked.

"I can't remember the name but it rendered the magic powers of all our enemies useless all around Hogwarts."

Snape's eyes widened even more. To cast a large spell was difficult. To cast one around the entire school and have it be a powerful spell like that, would almost kill the person. Snape also remembered when Voldemort had died the death eaters and his followers had fought on. Then suddenly they had stopped and looked panicky and confused before trying to run for it. If Granger had done that she had saved hundreds of lives. Snape just starred at her.

"You expect me to believe this?" He asked.

He knew it was true though.

"I don't care if you believe if it's true enough. I just want to say I'm not a coward and I didn't run. You know that because you saw me during that night."

Snape grimaced and nodded. He grudgingly admitted that he owed this witch a life debt. If she hadn't showed up when she had Snape would be dead. Voldemort had sent his snake at Snape. Snape hadn't had time to do anything. Hermione had showed up and blew the snake back, then killed it before healing Snape, then on top of all of that she had saved him from all the others who had thought him a traitor till he could prove himself, thus she saved him. Snape looked away. Hermione had promised to never mention it and that he owed her nothing. Snape looked to the side. Hermione just shuffled nervously.

"So what did the boys say?" He asked.

"They found me hours later near the edge of the forest. After those spells I had been so weak I couldn't move. They had glared down at me and told me I was a coward for running. They came to the conclusion I had ran for it and been hit by a stray spell."

"How much did those spells take out of you?" He asked.

"I almost died two times. I went through so much pain too. Having all that magic sucked from me at once gave me pain. I was pretty much lying in pain for hours, like being under the crucio. It was all blurred together." Hermione whispered.

"What has Dumbledore said?" Snape asked.

"He says he's sorry. I don't think he believed me but he's the same as always; caring, kind, and nice. He didn't make fun of me, or punish me. He acted like he understood. It wasn't an act either. He stands up for me to." She said. "He's trying to help me out with this marriage thing to but no one he asks would marry me."

Snape nodded. Dumbledore was a lot smarter then he looked. Even if he couldn't believe the story someone told him he could tell if the person was a good person or not. He was always kind too. Snape sighed and rubbed his temples. He sat there in though for a couple minutes. When he looked up he found Granger asleep in the chair. He sighed unhappily. He stood and grabbed a small blanket putting it on the girl. Then he walked out of his room. As he walked from his rooms he blinked at a scowling Draco who was pacing in front of them. As he saw Snape the boy sighed.

"Where is Hermione?"

Snape scowled softly. He wondered why Draco cared enough to ask, and cared enough to call her by her name.

"Sleeping." He answered.

"I heard from Nott you were going to punish her."

"I'm not. But I did take some points off of Slytherin and Gryffindor since I meant punishment for them, though they deserve worse."

Draco nodded.

"Why do you care?" Snape asked his godson.

"She has certain ties with the Malfoy family. My father and I wouldn't be happy if anything happened to her." Draco said.

Snape scowled completely puzzled. Before he could question the boy though, Draco was gone. Snape just shook the thoughts off and swept off down the hall. As he reached the tall gargoyle he sighed.

"Lemon drop." He said.

The gargoyle sprang to life and started to rise showing a staircase. He stepped onto the spiralling stairs and rose until he was in front of a door. He knocked.

"Enter."

He stepped in to see Dumbledore sitting at his desk. Snape saw Hermione's old badge on his desk.

"Take a seat Severus." He said.

Snape sat in a chair in font of his desk.

"Why did you want to see me?" He asked.

"It's about Granger." Snape said.

"Granger?"

"Yes. She is being picked on mercilessly, not only by the students but by McGonagall."

Dumbledore sighed.

"I know. McGonagall won't believe the girl is good. I don't believe her story about the large spells but…" Dumbledore trailed off with a sigh. "Why do you care? As I recall you hated her."

"It is my duty as a teacher to protect the students. And I owe her a personal debt." He hissed.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

"I know how much you hate being in debt." He chuckled.

Snape just scowled.

"You have talked with her?" Dumbledore asked.

"She is asleep in my sitting room at the moment."

Dumbledore gave Snape a look of gratitude.

"Thank you. I try to protect her and stand up for her but with the war just over, many still mourning, and so much mess, I can't always keep an eye on her. And now I'm using my spare time to save her from a very unhappy life with one of two people."

"I think she should take Percy." Snape said.

"You think so eh? Well if she marries Percy she will be around Ronald, Ginny, a still hysteric Molly, and a hardened Arthur. She will be picked on relentlessly and with Percy as her husband she can't even defend herself." Dumbledore sighed.

"Have you asked anyone else?" Snape asked.

"Her only friend is Neville. And he just got married."

"Then what about just losing her magic, like all of those who refuse to marry?"

"Where would she go if she was thrust into the muggle world?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"Get a job, live with her parents, or something." Snape said.

"She has no house, no parents, and no friends."

Snape blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"Her parents died in her third year. And she never had any muggle friends."

"Then where did she go each summer?"

"She lived with her very distant cousins whom she had never met. She had to get a part time job in the summer just to stay with them. Since they had never met she was considered a stranger and had to pay to stay with them. Ever notice who she went to the Weasely's or Grimmauld place earlier then the others?"

Snape was silent. The girl had nothing left. He stood and without another word walked off, in deep though. Dumbledore just watched him a twinkle still in his eyes, though some sorrow for Hermione.

.--.

Snape swept down the empty halls to his quarters in the dungeons. He stopped in his sitting room and looked down at Hermione. She looked tense and uneasy even when sleeping. He leaned over and brushed some hair from her face.

"You are still a know-it-all but you're finally stuck. I owe you too much to just stand to the side and watch your life crumble. I will help you. But sleep well for now." He muttered.

He knew she hadn't heard. But suddenly she started to relax and got a smile on her face, like she knew things would be better. Snape just swept to his room.

.--.

Hermione woke slowly. She sat up slowly and realized she wasn't in her room. She looked around and her eyes widened as she realized she was still in Snape's rooms. Her, in Snape's room, the evil professor's room, sleeping, and still alive. She sat up and saw Snape walk into the room. His eyes rested on Hermione and there was silence a minute. Snape slowly walked to the seat across from her and sat down still watching her. She just looked at the ground.

"Granger …"

Hermione blinked up at Snape.

"You have no other options then to marry Weasely or Nott?"

Hermione shook her head slowly.

"So will you refuse both and just let the ministry take your magic away?"

"My magic is all I have left." Hermione whispered looking down.

"So you need to choose someone to marry by tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"I have a proposition. If you accept it you won't have to have your magic taken away, and you won't have to marry Nott of Weasely."

Hermione held her breath. This was a chance. She looked up at Snape and he looked into her eyes. He slid to the edge of his seat and took Hermione's hands in his. She blinked.

"Would you marry me?"

Hermione just sat there her mouth open and her eyes wide. Marry the potion master Snape? She slowly let her breath out and looked off for a moment.

"If you marry me you would continue your education here. You would live with me in these quarters and have a free reign. And you could get a job after your education, if you wish." Snape said softly.

Hermione looked up. She had never heard Snape use a soft tone. She never would have guessed he would ask for her a hand either. She knew he was doing this to help her. And at the moment this was the best plan. It could save her future. She looked up at him again. Snape wasn't that bad either. Besides one good thing was in the new marriage law it didn't say anything about consummating the marriage since too many would have revolted at that.

"I-I… accept."

Snape just nodded and let her hands go.

"I will talk to Dumbledore about the papers."

Hermione nodded.

"We will go grab your stuff from you former rooms Granger." He said.

"Hermione. Call me Hermione."

"Fine Hermione. And you may call me Severus."

"Okay Sn…Severus."

He nodded and headed for the doors. Before he got far a hand on his robes stopped them. He looked back at the girl.

"Thank you." She breathed quietly.

"You're welcome Gra…Hermione."

Then he motioned for him to follow him. Once they were out in the halls he led her down the halls to the head girl's room. As they reached the large painting of a fairy the fairy waved.

"McGonagall said to tell you, you are to move out immediately." The fairy sang.

Hermione nodded and gave the password. As they walked in Hermione sighed. Snape followed her into her room. He raised an eye brow as he looked around. The room was very organized. Being the head girl she got her own room and more things. She had a four poster bed cover in red covers. Then there was a dresser, a comfy chair, a small desk, and a shelf. Snape smirked. The bookshelf was covered in books and everything was neat and tidy. He had expected it of Granger though. The girl looked to him.

"Pack your things."

She nodded. She instantly started to throw her things in her trunk, which Snape could tell was charmed to hold more then it looked like it could. She did a shrinking charm and shrunk her trunk when she was finished. Once she was ready Severus led her to his quarters again. He got her to set her stuff in his room for the moment.

"Now have a shower, get in some clean clothes, and eat. I will send a house elf with breakfast." Snape said.

She gave him a nod and walked to the bathroom he pointed out. Then he summoned a house elf and ordered it to bring Hermione some breakfast for when she was finished her shower. Then Snape walked to his door. He walked quickly down the hall to the gargoyle. When he reached it, it sprang to the side and he walked up and into the room. Dumbledore looked up at him over his half moon spectacles raising a brow. Snape sighed and sat down.

"How is Miss Granger this morning?" The headmaster asked.

"Good. She has accepted my proposal and we have moved her stuff from her former rooms."

"You asked for her hand?" Dumbledore asked that damned twinkle still in his eyes.

"Yes."

"Well I wish you both happiness then."

Snape just gave Dumbledore glare before sighing. He could see the headmaster's eyes bloody twinkling out of control.

"So I am guessing you came to get your marriage papers?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore smiled. He grabbed some papers from one of his drawers.

"So will she continue to stay in her classes?" He asked.

"Yes." Snape said.

"I am grateful to you for helping her. It hurt to watch the smartest witch to grace this school in over a couple hundred years, be treated so badly and forced into one of two marriages that would have ruined her future."

Snape gave a nod.

"She is probably very grateful to you to Severus."

He nodded again. Dumbledore handed Severus the papers. They sat in silence as Snape just double checked them. When he was finished he signed his name he handed the papers back to Dumbledore. Then the two stood and headed out the door. They walked back to the dungeons each in thought. When they entered Snape was surprised to find Hermione already sitting on the chair again. He starred a minute. He hadn't looked closely at her before. Now that he did he realized she was a lot more grown up then he remembered.

She had very nice curves and filled out in just the right places. Her long hair had become silky and fell in locks not a frizzy mess. It had at the moment been tamed into a braid, and her deep brown eyes looked happier as she read a book. The potion he had put in her pumpkin juice the night before had worked, getting rid of the bruises and cuts. Now she wore some muggle jeans and a t-shirt. She looked up at the two stepped in. She smiled at Dumbledore who smiled back. Then he sat down and started to explain the papers to her. After a few minutes she gave Snape a look before signing the papers.

"You two are officially married now. You may have a ceremony if you wish." Dumbledore said.

"Do you want one Hermione?" Snape asked.

Hermione shook her head, she didn't have anyone to invite anyways. Snape thanked his luck, he had never liked weddings.

"I believe Severus has two wedding rings though." Dumbledore smiled.

Snape nodded and walked back into his room. He grabbed a small black box and opened it. It held two identical deep emerald green rings that had etchings all over them. The rings had been in the Snape family for years. They had been passed down to each heir. Now Snape had them. His parents had died years ago and the rings had become his. Snape shook the thoughts off and grabbed the rings. He walked back to the sitting room to find Dumbledore popping a lemon drop in his mouth. He crouched beside Hermione and took her hand sliding the ring onto her ring finger. It immediately shrunk to fit her finger. She examined it as Snape slid his own one on. Dumbledore was smiling and had a happy look. He seemed happy with their marriage. Then he stood.

"I have some papers to send to the ministry. Good day Mr. and Mrs. Snape."

Then the headmaster used Snape's fire and flooed off. Snape watched the fire a moment. Then he looked to Hermione.

"You will stay in these quarters with me. You may unpack your things in my room. You may tell who ever you wish of this marriage."

"Okay. One question. Why marry me? What do you get from this?"

Snape looked at her a moment.

"I married you to save you from marrying Nott or Weasely. And I get you from this; you."

Snape leaned over and pushed his lips against her. She gasped against the kiss. After a second Snape pulled back and smirked at her widened eyes.

"I have work." He said bluntly before sweeping from the room.

.--.

Hermione starred after Snape. Her hands drifted to her lip. She had never known that Snape's lips were so soft, or his skin so smooth. She shook the thoughts away and stood up. She looked around the sitting form. It had a few chairs, a couple bookshelves, and a coffee table. The room was a mixture of greens, silvers, and blacks. There were also two doorways leading into other rooms. The first led through a large brown door to Snape's room which had a large bed, a dresser, a wardrobe, and a desk. The room was a dark green and had black furniture. It had a door leading to a green bathroom. The second doorway led to a small room that had lot of shelves occupied by books and potion ingredients. There was also a large desk and a place to make potions. This room was just greys, with brown shelves.

Hermione just walked to the bedroom and unpacked her trunk adding her books to the shelves in the third room. When she was finally finished she sat down in the sitting room and fingered her new ring absently. She had just married Snape. It seemed almost unreal. She sighed softly to herself. At least she didn't have to marry Percy or Nott. She looked around the room slowly and then stood. She walked out of the rooms and glanced around. Before she did anything more she made sure her wand was at her ready. Then she quickly walked off down the halls.

As she reached the Owlery she saw the owl she had bought at the beginning of the year. It was a deep black with golden eyes. She called it down and it landed on her shoulder. She grabbed some paper and a quill from a small supply kept in the Owlery. She quickly wrote a note to Remus telling him the news. She attached it to her Owl's legs and gave her the instructions before letting the owl leapt out the window. Hermione shivered slightly and hurried from the Owlery.

As she neared a window on one of the top floors she looked out over the stone courtyard below. She could see all the students gathered with their bags ready to go home for the Christmas holidays. She gulped as she didn't see Ron, Ginny, Nott, Harry, or some of her other enemies. She already knew they would be staying at Hogwarts for the season. She nearly jumped as someone called her a greeting. She turned to smile at nearly headless Nick and watched as he floated off.

Hermione wanted to go to the library but she knew if Harry and they were looking for her that would be the first place they would look. She finally decided to go to the green house. She walked back to the dungeons and grabbed her coat before hurrying back down that hall and out the doors. As she reached the large greenhouses she slipped in the door. As she stepped in she took her coat off so that she didn't get to warm. The greenhouses had spells cast on them to make sure they stayed warm even in the winter.

Hermione just wandered around labelling plants she knew. She ran into professor Sprout after an hour and had a long talk with her. When Hermione finally got bored she walked slowly back outside. She glanced down at Hagrid's hut to see his lights on. She decided to tell him the news and skipped off. She was soon running back to the castle though. She had seen Harry and Ron with Hagrid in the hut and really didn't want to see them. Hermione sniffed in sadness, but slowly walked into Hogwarts. She set off down the halls again towards the kitchen.

As she entered the large kitchen through the fruit bowl painting she smiled softly. Dobby saw her first and escorted her to a chair by the fire place before giving her a mug of hot chocolate. She sat there talking softly with the house elves for an hour. Then she was interrupted by a small house elf notifying her that Potter and his friends were coming. Hermione leapt to her feet and said goodbye before running from the room. She ran around the corner to run right into someone. She gasped as two hands gripped her wrists. She pulled back but the person didn't budge. She looked up to see Percy. He was smirking. She froze.

"Hello dear. Have you agreed to my proposal?"

She shook her head. He scowled.

"You chose Nott?"

She shook her head again.

"Then you haven't chosen at all and the first to talk to the headmaster gets you." He smirked.

He turned to walk off with Hermione. She kicked Percy hard in the shins. He yelped and let go stumbling back.

"Keep your filthy hands off or me." She snarled.

She turned to run but met a scowling Ron and Harry. She glared at them and slid to the side. They blocked her path again.

"You are in trouble now." Harry snarled.

"Yeah. You can't attack my brother." Ron scowled.

"It's called self defence." She snapped.

Ron reached for her and grabbed her one arm. Before he could blink she had punched him like she had Malfoy in the third year.

"I've wanted to do that for so long." She grinned as she saw Ron stumble back holding his bloody nose.

Harry growled. Hermione kicked him between the legs as he raised a fist. He dropped like a stone. Hermione grinned as she saw a map sticking out of his pants pocket. She grabbed it before anyone could stop her. She had forgotten about the damn map, no wonder they had found her. She let a laugh escape and then hoped over him and ran off. She rounded another corner to almost run into someone else. She 'eeped' and stopped herself before she could fall. She looked up at a concerned looking Draco. He looked at her.

"You okay?" he asked.

She gave a nod. He looked around the corner to see Harry still doubled over in pain, Ron with his bloody nose, and Percy clutching his shin and cursing. He let a grin split his face.

"Fought back finally eh?"

"Well there aren't as many consequences now." She smiled.

He spotted her ring. His eyes widened as it took the crest it.

"You married Snape." He choked out

She sighed and nodded. There was a moment of silence.

"Well that's better then Nott or Weasely."

She nodded.

"I'm sorry I couldn't put in my name." He mumbled

She blinked.

"You were the one who cleared our family name and saved my father and I from Azkaban." He said. "I would have offered to marry you but my mother engaged me before she died and I can't break the engagement yet. It will take a while. And my father was excused from the law as one of the recently widowed. He is still upset about her death."

She nodded.

"Thanks anyways." She smiled.

He nodded.

"Well I came to get you because my father is visiting and came to check up on you."

Hermione smiled and allowed Draco to lead her off to the dungeons. When they reached portrait it recognized her and let her in with Draco. As they entered the sitting room they found Snape sitting across from Lucius and both drinking tea.


	31. AlliedFor Now : Inuyasha

Sesshomaru X Kagome

Sesshomaru's POV:

I was glancing around looking for the traders. Everyone who recognized me bowed respectfully. I didn't notice them though as my mind was wrapped up about something else. A scout informed me that early in the morning some slave traders had came into the village surrounding my castle. Slave traders were rare and even though I disliked mortals I hated the ones who made slaves of others. Slave traders captured innocent people and enslaved them. I had forbidden them from entering my lands, but the last ones had been here two hundred years ago and the rule forgotten. I glanced at the demons and humans around me. Most were demons but a few brave humans lived around them. Humans were allowed in my land but none were brave enough to live in my castle or get jobs as servants. Rin was the only human to live in my castle.

I smelled Rin ahead of me. 'She must have gotten away from Jaken.' I thought to myself. I also smelled a second familiar smell, though I couldn't remember who it was. I wandered towards the walls around the village and manor to where the markets were set up at. I turned down a final road and came upon the market road. I quickly walked down the road, weaving in and out of the stalls and buyers. I saw my objective and headed towards it. My destination was ten wagons lined up. On the wagons were cages with people in them. Only the troublesome slaves were made to walk, and at the moment there were none. It disgusted me how so many mortals gave up so easily.

A few demons and humans were looking in the cages most were looking at them with pity and looked to be trying to figure out a way to get them free. A few were looking at them with interest, and a couple of children were handing food to the slaves when the guards weren't looking. I counted twenty-five guards, twenty oxen for pulling the wagons and ten horses for some of the guards. Most of the guards were gathered in one area along with many spectators.

I looked over and scowled. The center of attention was a woman in men's clothes who was tied to a cage. Her legs were free and she was growling. She had many wounds and dried blood along with fresh blood, coating her. Her hair was plastered to her face, it to was soaked with blood. The guards were yelling at her and cracking a whip. Every time the whip hit her she would lash out at the guard with her feet. It looked like she had hit a couple too. One was doubled over gasping, one was unconscious and one was holding his side and lying on his back. Suddenly a small girl ran out and stood in front of her.

"Stop that!" Rin yelled backing closer to the woman who looked down at the girl.

"You want some of this too, girl?!" The guard asked snarling.

The man stepped closer and raised his whip. I was about to jump in but the woman Rin was 'protecting' suddenly started to glow a faint pink. The air was tingly and I realized the woman was a miko. 'They even enslave their miko's?' I thought, 'That is just barbaric. Mikos are sacred and holy.' The ropes binding the woman snapped and she dropped to the ground. I could tell she had used the last of her powers. She grabbed Rin and jumped away from the whip.

"Get her!" The guard yelled.

Five guards unsheathed their sword and lunged at the woman and Rin. The miko jumped back. She set Rin down and pulled the unconscious man's sword from its sheath. The guards charged her and I saw Rin gasp. I also heard a woman from one of the cages yell out for the miko to stop. The miko didn't listen she just stood calmly in a fighting position. Then when the guards were almost on top of her she moved quickly and moved her sword with unnatural speed. She jumped away from the men. Four of them fell to the ground and cried out holding numerous wounds. **'She's skilled and fast.'** My beast said. I raised my eyebrows slightly in surprise at the miko's skill. The fifth man was panting and had smaller wounds. I saw the miko shudder and start to waver. The guard also noticed. He smiled and advanced on the woman. As soon as he did the Miko stopped wavering and waited.

Then suddenly she threw the sword. It flew forwards and embedded itself in the man's heart. The man gasped and clutched the hilt, dropping his own sword. He looked up at her surprised, before falling to the ground dead. The miko shivered and leaned against the wall. The five who attacked her were all lying on the ground. Four were wounded and one was dead. Three guards were still lying on the ground from when she kicked them. But that still left seventeen guards fresh and angry, who had all pulled their swords out. I decided to stop this. I jumped over the spectators and landed near Rin. The guards stopped and one snarled at me.

"Move."

"Do not speak to me like that petty mortal."

"I'll speak to you how ever I want."

All the men lunged at me. I sliced them to ribbons in a second with my whip. Now only seven guards were alive; four that had attacked the miko and three that had whipped her. One of my own demon guards ran up to me.

"Dispose of the bodies. Take the seven that are alive and seven horses and send them on their way. Tell them if they ever return I'll kill them."

"Hai, milord."

The guard ordered a few others and they started to clean up the mess. I glanced at the miko she was barely standing and she was hugging Rin close and not letting her see the massacre. I strode over to her. She looked up at me with calm and emotionless eye. She gasped and then fell backwards, unconscious. I grabbed her and lifted her bridal style. **'Why did you grab her?'** my beast asked. 'She is very interesting. A miko, trained with a sword, captured by slave traders, and fast. I would like to learn more about her.' I replied. He snorted and I looked to Rin who was looking at the miko in my arms. Suddenly a green toad came running up.

"Lord Sesshomaru! I'm sorry Rin got away from me when…What is that in your arms!?"

"Jaken, you and Rin will go do something till dinner, then come back to the castle."

"Hai."

"What are you going to do with her lord Sesshomaru? Please don't kill her." Rin said.

"I won't kill her. Now go."  
Rin and Jaken ran off and I surveyed the cages. There were four women and five men. My guards were letting them out. I walked over to a guard.

"Give them the choice of staying or leaving. What ever they choose, make sure they are accommodated."

"Hai."

My guard walked off and I headed to the girl who had cried out to the miko. She looked to be about fourteen, agile but delicate, and bustling with energy. She jumped when she saw me but no more.

"Kati." She stuttered, when I asked her name.

"Kati, tell me who this miko is."

"I don't know much about her. She was my partner in this cage. They chained her to me to stop her from trying to run. They caught her about three weeks ago. She was lying in a clearing with injures. When she came to, she was furious. She destroyed a cage and killed a guard. Over the three weeks she tried to escape and free us but with no avail. She was forced to walk most of the time and was whipped daily. We told her to give up but she said, 'I'm not a slave and I will never be one. You can cage me but not make me obey. I will always fight, right up until I die'. She never cried or cried out. She only yelled curses out and fought back. She never told me her name though. And I didn't know she was a miko."

"Did she have anything with her when she was captured?"

"All of her old things will be in that wagon. I don't think the guards sold them."

She pointed to a covered wagon. I walked over and looked in.

"What stuff is hers?"

Kati looked thoughtful then jumped into the wagon. She grabbed a bag and handed it to me along with one sword, a spear, a dagger, and two short swords only two half feet long and slightly curved on the end.

"What will you do with her?"

"…"

"Can I come? She's my friend and I can't abandon her!"

I nodded to the girl and started off. I heard the girl follow after me. She followed close behind as I walked into the castle. I headed to a guestroom and ordered a servant to get the healer. I walked into the guestroom and laid the miko down on the bed. The girl Kati sat beside the bed. With in a minute the healer came in and swooped down on the miko. The healer was an old demoness who healed everyone in the castle when they had wounds. The healer stripped the miko's shirt off and I respectfully turned my back.

"You girl, get me some hot water and a cloth."

Kati jumped up and ran into the hall. She came back a moment later with a servant. The servant was carrying some cloths in her arms and Kati was carrying a bowl of steaming water. They passed me and I could hear the healer washing the blood off the miko. The three women behind me hissed in sympathy and I sighed. I waited for another ten minutes before Kati shot past me. She grabbed one of the miko's bags and pulled out some clothes. I figured they had finished bandaging her. A moment later the healer walked out without a word followed by the servant.

I turned around and looked down at the miko. She was dressed in brown baggy pants with a white T-shirt. Her night black hair was dripping wet from were they had washed blood out. And her skin was perfect, a creamy color wit only a few fresh cuts. She looked very familiar. I heard thumping coming down the hall. The door slid open and Rin came. Rin lunged at the miko and I realized she had sat up, awake. She glanced around then Rin wrapped her arms around the miko giving her a hug.

"Lady Kagome! I'm so glad you're okay."

Rin's words hit me like a ton of bricks. '**It's the miko who traveled with your brother, and the one who landed the final blow on Naraku!**' My beast yelled in surprise. My eyes widened slightly. 'If she is here then were is my brother?' I asked.

"Rin…" Kagome started softly.

"Rin, the miko is hurt."

"Sorry."

Rin let go but stayed near the bed's edge. Kati sat at the end and Kagome smiled at her. Then she turned to me.

"Thank you for saving me, Sesshomaru."

"…"

"I'll leave immediately."

"You are too injured. You may stay until you are healed."

She looked like she was going to argue but then thought better of it.

"Thank you."

Kagome dipped her head. I studied her for a moment.

"Where is my brother? He should be protecting you."

Kagome looked momentarily sad.

"Inuyasha is no longer with the living."

I felt surprised.

"Who killed him?"

"No one."

"Tell me the story. And tell me why you do not smell like a normal human."

"When we defeated Naraku, we got the jewel. Sango, Miroku, Kirara, and Kohaku returned to the demon slayer village to restore it. Inuyasha, Shippo, Kikyo, and I went back to Kaeda's. Inuyasha and Kikyo got back together. Kikyo was still dead, and she asked Inuyasha to go to hell with her. He agreed. Right before they left Inuyasha asked for the sacred jewel. I gave it to him, along with the wish. He wished that I would have the strengths, speed, abilities, and immorality of a demon so I could live with and protect Shippo, my adopted son, and look after myself. I still look like a human, and have the personality of a human. I don't think like a demon, and I don't act like a demon. The wish was a selfless wish and the jewel ceased to exist. So I am not completely human, but not a demon either."

I studied her.

"Where is the kitsune Shippo?"

"He went to stay with Sango for a while."

"How did you become captured by slave trader?"

"I ran into a couple of demons. I killed them but got some wounds in the process. I passed out from blood loss. I do have the ability to heal like a demon, but they got me before I cold completely heal. I also have a demon's strength, or some of it, so I did destroy a cage and wreak some havoc. I could have gotten away but they always made sure I was exhausted and wounded."

"…"

The miko sighed and leaned back. Rin crawled onto the bed and sat down beside her.

"Have you been good Rin?" she asked quietly.

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Well…I did play some tricks on Jaken and run away from him a few times." She said guiltily.

Kagome just gave a quiet musical laugh. Rin grinned. Jaken came running in suddenly. He starred at the three humans on the bed before turning to me.

"I'm so sorry, Rin just got away from me."

I just raised a brow. She seemed to be doing so a lot.

"Also there is a demon wishing to speak with you milord."

"Show me to him."

"Hai."

"Rin, you will stay here with the miko or you will stay in your room. Kati you will stay with the miko. And miko I do not want to see you up at all."

Then I turned and followed Jaken out the door. He led me down some halls to a courtyard. In the courtyard was a tired looking tiger demon. He had stripes like a tiger and a tail. He was breathing hard and had many tears in his clothes. His one side had a wound, and he looked worried and nervous. He bowed when he saw me.

"Lord Sesshomaru. I'm from a small demon village near the border of your lands. I am the only surviving demon from my village. When I last saw my village it was burning. I've been sent to warn you."

"Warn me of what?"

"There is a group of demons and humans heading towards your castle. They are burning and killing as they come. The leader of the group is named Rehenshin. He is a demon who says he has a grudge against you. Smaller demons have joined him and many humans have also. They are coming straight for you and they are gathering more people by the day. He also is looking for a…someone named Kagome."

I blinked at Kagome's name. I decided to ask her later. I remembered Rehenshin well. His father had been a strong demon who had almost rivaled my father in strength. He had tried killing my father and taking his place as lord. My father had always been a little stronger and killed him. His son Rehenshin had been banished.

~~FLASHBACK~~

My father was standing over Rehen's body. He sighed.

"You were a very good general. I will miss your advice. But you brought this on yourself."

He swiped the blood off of his blade and slid it into his sheath. He motioned to a guard.

"Bring Rehenshin, his son here."

The guard bowed and hurried out. A moment later we heard a yell. Rehenshin burst in the door and saw his father's body. He cried out and leapt at my father. His sword was already bloody telling us he had killed the guard. My father stood there. Then at the last instant he rushed forwards and punched Rehenshin in the stomach. Rehenshin had coifed up blood and shot back into the wall. He was still conscious but stunned. My father watched the boy.

"I will not hold you responsible for your father's actions. But you must be punished for attacking me and killing my guard. You are hereby banished from my land. A lord of another land may take you in but you are to never step foot my land."

A guard walked in and stared to drag the boy out.

"I'll get revenge for my father someday! Just wait!" The boy yelled as he way dragged away.

He glared at my father once before he glared at me. Then he was dragged out the door. I hear later that he had been escorted to the border of my lands.

~~END OF FLASHBACK~~

**'I guess he's coming to fu-fill his promise.'** My beast rumbled. 'And we won't be merciful like my father.' I said. **'But what does he want the miko?**' My beast asked. '**I suggest we keep her close till we get some answers.**' 'I agree.' I replied.

"Thank you for the information. Jaken will make sure you are accommodated. You may stay here and work in the castle or village or you may leave and go where you wish."

The man bowed again.

"Thank you my lord."

I turned on my heels and walked off. I headed to my study were I sat down to do some paper work.

Kagome's POV:

As soon as Sesshomaru was out of earshot I sighed.

"Who would have thought I would be saved by my old enemy, Sesshomaru."

"Is being saved by Sesshomaru a bad thing?" Rin asked.

"No. It's just surprising."

"Oh."

"You know the lord of the western lands personally?" Kati asked. "You're friends?"

"I wouldn't call us 'friends'. He has tried to kill me a couple of times, he tried killing my friends and taking his brother's sword."

"Oh. He has a brother?"

"Yes but he is dead."

There was a painful silence for a minute.

"Kagome, where is Shippo?" Rin asked.

"He is with Sango and her brother Kohaku."

"Ooh! Kohaku is better and with his sister now?!"

"Yes."

"I'm happy for him! He seemed so sad with Naraku."

"Well now he is living with his sister and they are happy."

"Maybe Sesshomaru will let me visit them!"

"If he says yes I can take you for a while when I leave."

"Yay! I'll ask him at dinner."

"Umm…Can I come with you when you leave?" Kati asked quietly.

"Of course! I won't abandon you."

Kati gave me a big hug and then sat back down on the bed. Just then her stomach rumbled loudly. She turned red in embarrassment. Rin and I just giggled. Rin jumped up and headed for the door.

"I'll get you some food."

"I thought Sesshomaru said to stay here?"

"But if he doesn't catch me it'll be okay. And if he does catch me I'll just say you were hungry."

Then she skipped out. 'It seemed she has grown up in the last couple of years. She is more mature now. And she no longer talks in third person.' I thought to myself. Kati laid her head on the bed and seemed to fall asleep. After about five minutes the door slid open and Rin jumped in grinning. She slammed the door and started giggling.

"Jaken almost caught me but I run to fast for him." She giggled.

Rin ran to Kati and hid a piece of cloth filled with food under a pillow. Then she sat and pretended she had been talking this whole time. Jaken threw the door open and jumped in panting.

"Ha! I found you! What did Sesshomaru say about staying in here!?"

"Why Jaken, I've been in here the whole time." Rin said innocently.

Jaken opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't think of anything to say. He just closed his mouth and scowled at the girl. Finally he stomped out of the room. Rin giggled and pulled out the food. She handed it all to Kati. Kati's eyes opened in surprise at all the food there.

"How did you get so much?"

"I just asked the cooks for some food for my new friend and they gave me this."

"Thank you."

"Now eat up. You need to get stronger."

Kati nodded and started to eat. She ate slowly as if savoring every bite. It made me wonder how long he had been with the slave traders. They had only fed us enough to keep us alive and no more. I was surprised at how calmly and slowly she ate it, considering how hungry she must be. I also took a bun, some meat, and some cheese from the pile of food. The pile contained cheese, strips of cooked meat, buns, some small oatcakes, a couple of vegetables, and some fruit. I ate what I had taken and then leaned back and closed my eyes. Rin and Kati talked softly but I soon tuned out their soft voices and fell asleep.

Sesshomaru's POV:

I was only in my study for a minute before I smelled Rin run past my door. She was so quiet my demon hearing barely caught the brush of her kimono. All the time she had spent here had taught her stealth and speed. I waited till she was down the hall before I silently slipped after me. I followed after her as she walked into the kitchen. I realized she was getting food for the miko and her friend. I saw Jaken run into the kitchen. Suddenly Rin came running out giggling. She ran right passed me and grinned at me. I smiled slightly. Jaken came running out a minute later. He bowed to me.

"I'm sorry I let Rin get out of the room. I'll send her right back."

"Mmh? Rin is out of the room? I haven't seen her."

Jaken looked confused but quickly ran down the hall again. I decided to go check on the miko and them. First I went to the kitchen and asked how much Rin had gotten, for the guests. The cooks said they had given her enough for three people. So I walked back down the hall to the guestroom. I heard soft voices talking. I opened the door and stepped in.

The miko was sleeping, and Rin and the girl Kati were talking. I looked at the two and realized Kati was only about a year older then Rin. They were talking about Kati's village and Kati was eating slowly. When they saw me Rin smiled and the girl Kati tensed up and bowed.

"Did the miko eat?"

"Yes."

Then Rin jumped up.

"Sesshomaru Kagome said she would take me to visit Kohaku and Shippo if you would let me go. Can I go?"

I blinked.

"I will think about it."

Rin grinned and sat down again. I looked them over once more. My eyes rested on the miko a moment before I turned and once again headed to my study. For the rest of the day I did my paper work. Jaken checked on the humans once in a while and reported that Rin and Kati had drawn some picture, talked and Rin had gotten more food at dinner. Jaken also said the miko stayed asleep, and she was healing quickly. When night had covered the castle for a while I stood up. I walked out of my study. Jaken had fallen asleep long ago, along with most of the castle inhabitants. I walked to the guestroom and looked in. Kati and Rin were sleeping together on the bed, but the miko was no where to be seen. I saw her backpack against the wall, so I knew she hadn't left. I tried smelling for her but she had cloaked her scent when she reached the door. I decided to go look for her. I walked down the halls but I couldn't find her.** 'She is probably outside somewhere.**' My beast said. I headed for the garden closest to her room.

I walked out into the warm summer air. The garden was covered in the light from the full moon. I followed the stone path, towards a small pond at the back of the garden. I saw Kagome standing before the pond as I rounded the corner. I just starred at her for a moment. Her straight, long, coal-black hair fanned across her back and the moonlight made it shine. The brown pants and white T-shirt looked like the richest garments ever made, on her. All of her curves showed under the loose clothing showing her beauty. She sighed.

"Sorry. But I had to get up. I was going mad just lying there in bed." She said.

I snapped out of my trance and walked up to her. She wasn't looking into the pond she was actually looking up at the moon.

"It's beautiful, is it not?"

"Yes."

She smiled at me and returned to looking at the moon. I saw that she was holding a sword in her arms. It looked very familiar. I starred at it in shock.

"What are you doing with the Tetsiaga?" I asked.

"Inuyasha gave it to me. I thought you noticed it before, because Kati said you carried it for me."

I blinked. 'I held the Tetsiaga in my hands and didn't notice?!' I laughed inwardly at myself.

"How was I even able to hold it?"

"I removed the barrier, so that I could use it."

I looked at it then I reached for it. Kagome easily jumped back out of my reach. She laughed and I growled. She slid the sword and its sheath into a belt at he waist.

"If you want it you will have to take it from me." She taunted.

I growled and jumped at her with my demon speed. Her speed seemed to match mine, which slightly surprised me. I summoned my whip. Now it wasn't just about getting Tetsiaga, I was also testing her skills. She pulled out was her half a foot long dagger from her belt. I sent my whip after her. It clashed against her dagger. I blinked.

"No normal weapon can block my whip."

"This isn't any normal weapon. It was made by Totosi, and I put my miko powers into it to make it stronger."

I shrugged and lashed out with my whip. She just blocked it again. Every time I tried to hit her with the whip she'd block it, and every time I got close enough to grab the sword, she'd lash out with her dagger, and then jump back. After an hour I put my whip away. She also put her dagger away. She had two cuts from where she wasn't fast enough with her dagger and only locked half of my attack. I had four slashes in my clothes and two bleeding cuts from where she had got me with the dagger.

"You may keep the sword for now, but I will get it sometime. It will be more interesting trying to get the sword from you then trying to get it from Inuyasha."

"Nh."

I raised my eyebrow at her answer. She just grinned. Then I remembered a question.

"Why is Rehenshin after you?"

She squinted at me and her guard went up. She slowly reached for her dagger.

"You know Rehenshin?"

"We are enemies."

She relaxed a bit.

"My father killed his, he wants revenge." I said.

"Oh."

"So what does he want with you?"

"We met when I was traveling. He had heard that I was with Inuyasha. He said he wanted to kill one of Inuyasha's old enemies. And now I'm guessing that the enemy was you. He wanted me to join him. I told him I did not care about killing Inuyasha's enemies, and that I did not want to help him with is petty revenge. I guess it ticked him off. I escaped him and his 'army' but he sent men after me. I've killed some of his human and demon allies, and each time I escape him, he sends stronger ones and more. Last time, he sent five demons and ten humans. I would have killed them easily, but one of the demons breathed a poison gas I accidentally breathed in. I used my miko powers to get rid of the poison and purified demon, but then I was weak. I killed the others but I got wounded. That's when the slave traders caught me."

"Hn."

I thought about this and what she had said before piecing it together. Then a question popped into my head.

"You said before that you got the abilities of a demon. What abilities do you have?"

She smiled.

"Well I did get the knowledge on how to use different weapons instantly, and I control water and wind."

"Water and wind, the elements?"

"Yes. Watch."

She walked to the pond and reached down into it. She pulled her hands out of the water. In one hand was a swirling sphere of water, and then she held he other one out. A swirling sphere of wind swirled in her palm. Then she threw the sphere of air at me. Just before it hit me it burst. A breeze of wind hit me, then died as suddenly as it had appeared. She smiled and dropped the water sphere back in the pond.

"I can also fly, and swim for longer periods of time."

She sounded thrilled. I smirked slightly.

"Nh."

"I would like to thank you for saving me from the slave traders."

"Nh."

"I'm planning on leaving tomorrow."

"No."

"Nh?"

She looked confused.

"I wish for you to stay here a while."

"You just want to try and get the Tetsiaga."

I smirked.

"If you stay here, you will meet with Rehenshin again. He is heading this way."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Mmh. Maybe I will stay then."

I smiled and she grinned.

"If you'll excuse me, I'll head back to my room now."

I nodded and walked back with her. When I saw her to her room I walked off to mine. I laid down on my bed and quickly fell asleep.

.--.

When I woke up it was a little after dawn. I stood and quickly got dressed. I walked off to check on my two guests. I found the miko sleeping. I didn't see Rin or Kati though. A few seconds later I heard a splash and some yelling. The two girls jogged in giggling.

"Lord Sesshomaru, master Jaken fell in the pond." Rin said.

I raised an eyebrow. 'Fell or helped in?' I wondered. Then the two girls ran off again.


	32. Vampires : Naruto

You know those bedtime stories your parents tell you of dragons, fairies, vampires, and werewolves? Well I don't know much of fairies, dragons, or werewolves, but Vampires are another thing all together, and very much real.

.--.

A figure stood on a roof top bathed in the moon light. They had pale porcelain skin that glinted in the night. Their hair was long and wild, but gathered in a braid. There eyes were a piercing emerald green. They wore a red and black Chinese outfit, with a long black cloak. They stood on a rooftop in the silence of night. Nothing moved in the streets of the city below. The figure looked for a victim. They stood waiting for five minutes before they saw their prey. It was a tall handsome man stumbling home from his trip to the bar. The figure gave a feral grin showing off pearly white teeth and two fangs. In a gust of wind the person was gone. The man below, labelled as prey? He would be found early in the morning, drained off blood.

.--.

Sakura stepped swiftly into the large office. She smiled softly. The Hokage's head looked up at the woman standing in her office.

"Sakura!' Tsunade grinned.

"Hello Tsunade. I have returned from my mission."

"Was it a success?"

Sakura nodded.

"Good….. Well you may like some news I have." The blonde grinned.

Sakura raised an eyebrow in question.

"Sasuke, Uchiha has returned to the village. He ran from Orochimaru." Tsunade smiled.

Sakura didn't even blink. She just looked out the window an unreadable expression on her face. Then she turned back to Tsunade a polite smile on her face.

"How wonderful."

Tsunade nodded still smiling.

"And Tsunade…"

The woman looked up.

"May I take the ANBU examine."

Tsunade blinked. Then she opened her mouth. A moment later she snapped it shut. She was quite surprised by the request.

"Are you ready to take it?" She questioned.

"More then ready." Sakura drawled.

"Then you may. The next test is in a month. Sasuke and Naruto will be taking it with you. Kakashi took it once again a couple moths ago."

Sakura nodded.

"Well it's good to have you back Sakura."

"It's good to be back, Tsunade." Sakura smiled.

Then the woman turned on her heels and swept from the room her black cloak sweeping behind her. Tsunade just watched her leave.

.--.

Sakura walked purposely down the streets. When she finally reached her house she quickly stepped in. She quickly closed all her blinds and shut off the lights. She pulled out three candles but didn't light them yet. She pulled her backpack of her back and dropped her duffle bag to the floor. Then Sakura yawned. It was noon and she was tired. Sakura just looked at her pink room in disdain. She had never got around to painting it. She walked to her deep red living room where she curled up on her couch and snuggled into her black cloak before promptly falling asleep.

.--.

_ She ran as fast as she could. Her breathes came in fast pants. She had long since run out of chakara so she was no faster then an ordinary human. _

"_Stay away!" She yelled as she heard her pursuer catching up. _

_ Tears came to her eyes as a branch cut her cheek deeply. She screamed as she tripped over a root. She hit the unforgiving earth, skinning her knees and elbow, and cutting herself on the undergrowth of the forest. She heard deep chuckles. She rolled over and her eyes widened in fear as she saw the figure over top of her. His short white hair almost glowed in the moonlight. His blue eyes shone with glee and his mouth curved up in a smile. His eyes flashed red as his bloodlust started to take over. Before she could move the eighteen year old boy, who looked to be ten swooped down pinning her to the earth. He chuckled again as he kissed her jaw._

"_Why so tense Sakura? Why so scared?"_

_ She whimpered and struggled against his hold._

"_Please." She sobbed as tears welled in her eyes._

_ The kisses continued down her jaw to her neck, to her shoulder. The last kiss ended on her shoulder. Then suddenly Sakura's vision flashed black and pain seared through her. She let out a high pitched scream. Her vision blurred by tears and she felt blood being pulled from her. It ended a second later. The boy stood and stumbled back. His eyes lost the red. They also stopped glowing and he lost all his bloodlust. Sakura whimpered as her hand covered the bite on her shoulder. Sakura sat up and leaned against the tree behind her. The boy gasped and looked horror stricken._

"_Sakura!" He screamed in anguish._

"_Hunny…" She mumbled._

"_I'm so sorry." The boy cried out falling to his knees._

_ He crawled to the woman as her eyes glazed over. She fell against him and he held her against him. He smoothed her hair and cried._

"_I'm so sorry."_

"_It's okay. You're forgiven Hunny." She mumbled cringing in pain._

"_I'm so sorry. Now you'll be one of us. You'll be one of the forsaken! I've cursed you! You may not even live! You're too young!" He screamed in torment._

"_I will survive." She mumbled. _

_ Then the pain hit her. She screamed. The pain was so bad she felt like she couldn't even breathe. She wouldn't last was all she could think as the waves of pain hit her making her scream in agony._

.--.

Sakura sat straight up panting. She slowly looked around. Then she covered her face with her hands and laughed before falling back. Her head hit the couch and she laughed again. She stared up at her ceiling a moment. Then she slowly stood up and looked at the clock. It was about sunset. Sakura straightened her hair and stretched. Then she walked out her door into the closing in night; ready to do some training. As she walked along the empty streets she sighed. She had always loved training better at night. There were less people, interruptions, distractions, and she learned to use more then just her sight to fight. There were some lights on around the village, most from homes or bars, but other then that it was silent and dark. Sakura sighed again and started to jog to the training grounds.

As she jogged she looked around. She hadn't really looked around in a long time. She was eighteen yet she had barely seen her village since she had been fourteen. She had left for two years to train at fourteen. Naruto had done the same. Then when she had returned she had made Jonin. Then she had worked like mad on the toughest missions. She had never spent more then a couple days in Konoha at a time. Now she was eighteen and going onto ANBU. She wondered how Naruto and Sasuke were doing. She hadn't seen Sasuke since she was twelve and he had left. And she hadn't seen Naruto since she had been fourteen and left. Naruto had just returned recently, Sasuke in tow. Sakura smirked. She had known that long before Tsunade had told her. Word travelled fast if you knew where and who to listen too. Sakura sighed and smirked at the same time before focusing on her jogging and training.

.--.

Naruto raised his hand to knock on the door. He let it drop again. Then he raised it again. This went on a couple more times.

"Knock already dammit! We've stood here for minutes now!" Sasuke grumbled.

"I know." Naruto whined. "I'm just nervous. I haven't seen Sakura in four years."

"I haven't seen her in six." Sasuke pointed out.

Naruto just pouted. Kakashi sighed and flipped a page in his infamous orange book. Naruto let out a sigh and knocked. They waited two second before the door was swung open. The three men stared at the woman in front of them. She had long delicate arms and legs, pale smooth skin, alive green eyes, a perfect figure, and long pink pastel tresses that fell to her waist. She looked delicate and beautiful , like a porcelain doll. It looked like she had just woken up by the yawn and clothes. She wore some black loose shorts, and a red tank top. She looked over them as they just stared at the beautiful woman. She leaned against her door and ran her fingers through her long hair.

"Hmm?" She asked.

Naruto just leapt at her embracing her in a tight hug. She didn't say anything just looked at him. When he dropped her he gave her a fox-ish grin.

"Come in." She yawned.

They all followed her in, in slight surprise at her mild reaction. They stepped in and blinked. They stopped as she closed the door behind them. They had all always pictured Sakura's house as a warm and cheery place. But the place looked sober. The living room was deep red with black furniture and trim. The kitchen was also a mixture of blacks and deep blues. All the blinds were pulled tight and the place was lit with candles not lights. It felt like a ghost house; empty, abandoned, and dead. They stared a minute as Sakura walked to the kitchen. She already had tea waiting as if she knew they had been coming.

"Well come on." She said.

They all stared after her a minute. Her voice wasn't as cheery and happy as it had been so long ago. It was more musical, tempting, and dangerous. They slowly followed her to the kitchen and sat down. She didn't drink anything but offered her some tea. She yawned again but smiled slightly.

"So how are you?' She asked.

"It's been four years and that's all you can ask?" Naruto blurted out. "Didn't you miss us?"

Sakura didn't seem embarrassed angry, sad or any emotion. She looked relaxed, calm… emotionless. Naruto seemed a bit embarrassed at his question.

"Not really."

That hit the three like a couple hundred pounds of bricks.

"You didn't miss us?" Sasuke asked slowly.

"It's hard to miss someone I barely knew." She said finally taking a sip of her tea.

She scowled at it and set it back down.

"But it is nice to have you back."

That seemed to relieve some of the tension in the room. They all watched her closely though.

"So are you stronger now?" Sasuke half sneered.

"Yes." Sakura said offhandedly.

"What rank are you?" Kakashi asked.

"Special Jonin."

Naruto grinned.

"Guess what Sakura?"

"Hmm?"

"Sasuke and I are going to be trying out for ANBU in a month. Kakashi retook the test a while back already."

"I knew that."

They all blinked.

"I'm also taking the test."

Sasuke let out a bark or laughter and Sakura's eyes focused on him.

"You find that funny Uchiha?"

Sasuke scowled slightly as she called him by his last name.

"It's hard enough to believe you are a Jonin. But to be taking the ANBU test? Tsunade must be mental to let you try."

Naruto just scowled at nothing. Sakura didn't even act like she had heard the man. Kakashi looked at her. He looked at her warily. He knew Tsunade wasn't mental. He knew that in the past few years Tsunade had actually started to go harder on those who wanted to take the test and only those she thought were beyond ready got to go into the test.

"So what did you do while we were away?" Naruto asked changing the subject.

"Trained."

"Any missions?"

"Yes."

There was another moment of silence.

"Why is your place like this?" Sasuke asked looking around.

"I like the dark." Sakura said calmly.

The three looked at her. The twelve year old Sakura they remembered well would never have said that.

"And why do you look like you just woke up? It's past three." Naruto said.

"I sleep late, train late." She said shrugging.

There was another moment of silence as they finished their tea. Then Sakura stood.

"Would you mind if we talked later? I'm really tired."

The three nodded and said quick goodbyes before shooting from the house.

"It was a bit creepy in there." Naruto said looking back at Sakura's dark house.

"Sakura seems to have changed a lot." Kakahsi stated.

"She's probably just like the old Sakura. She use to get weird when ever she was tired and she said she was tired now to." Naruto huffed.

"Nh." Sasuke said.

"Well I'm off to train!" Naruto yelled.

"Me too." Sasuke said.

"Hmm." Kakashi said.

The two glanced at him then split. Kakashi glanced back at Sakura's house once more. He blinked as he saw her looking out the window at him. There eyes met a moment and she sneered/snarled at him. Then she was gone. Kakashi blinked. He wondered what that was about. Then he left.

.--.

Sakura watched them leave. She gave Kakashi a snarl/sneer as he looked back.

'**Damn men.'**

'They are just being nice. Now shut up. I'm tired and I don't need to deal with you.'

'**Mhpf**.'

Inner Sakura stormed away in Sakura's mind. Then Sakura turned around. She walked to her couch and fell onto it. She had had a rough night of training and was worn out. She yawned once before drifting into a deep sleep.

One Month Later

Naruto was practically jumping up and down in excitement. He and Sasuke stood in front of the forest of death. There were about fifteen other men surrounding them, and five women. Some were from Sand and some from Konoha. Tsunade had announced the ANBU examines would be held in the forest of death and most were looking at the forest cautiously. Naruto glanced at Sasuke who looked as emotionless as ever. He started to wave frantically as he saw Sakura. She walked over to them calmly. Naruto gave her a quick hug.

Over the month they hadn't seen much of each other. Sakura seemed to always train at a different time then Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura looked the two over calmly. They seemed stronger and ready to take the test. Sakura just sighed and watched the others. She kept tabs on the ones she thought worthy of her attention, the rest she watched from the corner of her eye, wary yet indifferent. She knew that both Sasuke and Naruto also watched her, but she ignored them. She looked up though as Tsunade and Anko stepped forwards and cleared their throats.

"You are all here to become ANBU. Now the idea of this test is survival, stealth, strength, and some luck. You all have seven days to get through this forest to the center. The idea is to defeat as many others as possible. We wish for no deaths but some may be unavoidable. For now if you defeat an opponent you scratch their mask. Each shall be given a different mask to hide your identity. Each time you scratch their mask with your kunai a special jutsu will make an extra line appear on you mask. The more people you defeat the higher you score. If you lose you do not lose a mark but gain a scratch. You may defeat the same person more then once. Is that clear?" Tsunade yelled.

Everyone nodded that they understood.

"You will each get you masks from Anko. You may work together if you wish." Tsunade smirked.

"Now the exam will begin in two minutes. Any questions?"

"You told us to pack for three days worth of camping, yet you say we have a week." One man said.

"You must forage for yourself." Tsunade said.

Sakura frowned slightly, which didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke.

"Worried?" He sneered.

"Not really. I might get a bit thirsty during the time though." She said.

Sasuke stared at her as she gave a thoughtful smirk and licked her lips. Tsunade looked around with Anko.

"Will you be watching us?" Sakura spoke up.

"There are a few cameras around the forest." Tsunade confirmed.

There were no more questions. Anko started to pass out ANBU masks. Except these were plain white with no decorations. Then all the contestants lined up at the gates.

"GO!" Anko yelled.

The gates opened and the total of thirty ninja leapt into the forest of death.

"Good luck." Tsunade muttered.

Anko grinned and also set off into the forest heading for the center tower. Tsunade sighed and remembered all her paperwork on her desk.

.--.

Sakura easily 'vanished' from sight, blending into the trees. She gave an untamed grin her eyes taking on a predatory glint. It was time to hunt.

.--.

Sasuke scowled. He felt a bit unnerved by this forest. He was more worried of the other contestants though, even though he knew he was better then most.

.--.

Naruto was just grinning like a fool as hoped from branch to branch and thought of all the ass-kicking he was going to be doing.

.--.

Anko settled into the couch in the tower. She would be in the place for a while. She flicked the screen on and it showed multiple places. She grinned as she saw a few people pass the cameras. She grinned and settled down hoping some battles would happen soon.

A WEEK LATER

Sakura licked her lips as she saw her last victim before her. He thought he was hidden? She snickered. He was directly below her and didn't even know she was there.

'**These are the future ANBU of Konoha and Suna?'** Inner Sakura cackled.

'Weak and pathetic.' Sakura sneered.

'**I'm not surprised that much actually.'**

'Me neither. But most are beyond pathetic.'

Inner Sakura agreed easily. Sakura dropped from her tree branch silently. She cleared her throat politely. The man spun with a gasp striking out with a kunai. Sakura didn't even bother to laugh. She caught his weapon arm, already slashing towards him with her own weapon. As soon as her kunai tip passed through his mask, marking it, she used her speed to vanish leaving the man gasping. Sakura smirked and walked calmly down the forest path.

She only had to walk for a minute before she walked into a clearing and saw the tower. She walked to the door and slipped in. she glanced around and saw no one in sight. She smirked. She was the first one back. She saw chairs, water, and food waiting for those who got there first. Sakura ignored it and sat in a chair. She slipped her mask off and hid it in the folds of her black travel cloak. She pulled the hood up too, so no one could see her face.

.--.

Anko and Tsunade saw the first person walk in. They expected the person to sit down and eat or at least take a drink. But the person just sat and pulled up their hood while hiding their mask. They sat calmly waiting for the others. It took most of the day for most of the others to come back. In the end they found out seven of the seventeen men had died, including one of the six women. When everyone was gathered Tsunade and Anko collected their masks to 'grade' them. The hopeful ninja sat patiently as Anko and Tsunade looked over the masks.

Neither were surprised to see that Naruto and Sasuke had some of the highest scores. But they were surprised to see Sakura had the highest of all scores. They looked up at her then back at her mask. For each mark she had made she had gotten a new black line on her mask. Her mask was now a complete face of a tiger. The whole mask was more detailed then most ANBU masks. This was how, of course, most ANBU got their masks. Lines were added later if they didn't have enough but most of the time the masks they 'made' while in the exam stuck with the people. Finally Tsunade stood and announced the people who had not passed. The people left with defeated looks. The rest sat waiting.

"Well I would like to congratulate the four kunoichi and the seven men who passed this exam. You are officially ANBU." Tsunade smiled.

There were some cheers as Anko passed their masks back.

"Well I hope you will all serve your villages well. Go home and rest now. You deserve it."

Everyone left in high spirits. Tsunade held Sakura back though. The two women looked at Sakura.

"You did well Sakura. You got the top marks." Tsunade said seriously.

They were surprised to see a slight sneer on Sakura's face.

"Most of the others were just weak."

The two stared at her as Sakura flipped her long pink braid over her shoulder before strolling off.

"Keep an eye on her." Anko said. "I can smell her starting to go bad."

Tsunade blinked at the odd woman before giving a curt nod.

.--.

Sasuke and Naruto waited as Tsunade said something to Sakura. Then Sakura walked up to them and they all walked off. Naruto was grinning while he examined his fox mask. Sasuke glanced at his mask to and the pattern of the wolf face.

"So what does you mask look like Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"It's probably very undecorated." Sasuke sneered. "She probably just squeaked in to the finalists."

Naruto just shrugged. The two blinked as Sakura sneered, right back at Sasuke.

"Wrong Uchiha. You may like to know I got the top score."

The two men gaped at Sakura's mask which she held up. It was an intricate pattern of a tiger with fangs, jagged whiskers, and many other small details. She didn't have a scratch on it either. They just stared until Sakura made it vanish beneath her cloak and walked up.

"But how?" Naruto asked.

"She probably picked off the weakest people." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Sakura didn't respond. She just glanced back at them. Then in a swirl of cherry blossoms teleported back to her place. Naruto and Sasuke shrugged and walked off together.

.--.

Sakura paced her living room restlessly. It was only ten. Most people would be in the bars celebrating with the new batch of ANBU. She sighed softly and sat starting to braid her hair. When that was done she stood. Her bag lay at her feet. She swung it onto her back. She had returned right after the exam and had a nap. Then she had changed and packed. She sat on her couch looking around. She sat there for two hours patiently. As soon as her clock struck midnight she stood. She walked out her door and walked down the empty streets. As she reached the first bar she could see lights filtering through the door and loud voices inside. She sneered and walked past it. She had just reached the gate when three shadows dropped in front of her.

"Sakura where are you going?" Naruto asked slowly.

"I'm leaving." She said blandly.

"We were ordered to watch you and if you did anything to stop you." Kakashi said.

"Why are you leaving?" Naruto cut in.

"Because." Sakura yawned.

"Why now? Why right after you made ANBU?" Naruto asked.

"Because this way when I leave I will be stronger in you eyes and labelled as more dangerous. If I had ran before this I would have been labelled as a medic Jonin. But now I'm an ANBU. Big difference, more fear, and more respect."

The three stared at her.

"Why are you so different from when we first started this team?" Naruto asked.

"I've always been like this, and those reasons are my own." Sakura whispered.

"We're here for you. You can talk to us." Naruto said in a pleading voice.

"If I told you what I really was you would throw me out, kill me, or a number of things."

"We wouldn't." Naruto said fiercely.

"Then do you wish to know what I really am?"

The three looked at her and gave brief nods. Sakura opened her mouth and gave a feral grin. Her green eyes tinted with red spots and her fingers grew long and pointed. Her two front teeth turned to fangs that glistened.

"I'm a vampire." She laughed.

The three gapped. They had most likely heard of vampires. There were few that were known, but most ninja had heard of vampires at some time or another. If they believed in them was another story all together was another story.

"I was deprived of blood in that exam. I think it is time to get some."

The three paled slightly.

"I have more control then to get out of control in bloodlust." Sakura said clicking her tongue. "But I defiantly want some Uchiha blood."

Sasuke's eyes widened and the other two slid in front of him. Sakura was gone in less then a blink of an eye. Suddenly Kakashi flew fifty feet off to the side and hit the wall with a sickening thud. He cried out and whimpered. He tried to stand and cried out again sinking to his knees. The two men stared at their ex-sensei. Naruto spun in time to have a punch hit his gut. He coifed up blood and flew into the air. No one even saw Sakura punch him or jump. But then Naruto was kicked down at an alarming speed. He hit the pavement making a huge crater. Sasuke didn't have a chance to blink before Sakura was in front of him. He held his breath as she walked around him seductively. He felt her stop behind him and press against him. He whimpered as she licked his neck, shivers of fear washing over him. Her aurora was almost suffocating him.

"You are strong Uchiha. But against a vampire of my rank you are a bug, with tasty blood I might add."

Before he could even gasp her fangs sunk into his neck. His sharingan activated unconsciously as he fought to breath. He stood their half a minute before Sakura pulled back. Sasuke slumped to the ground.

"I did not take enough blood to kill you. And I did not change you into a vampire. You are one of the few fortunate humans to have a vampire suck their blood and not die or be turned. Congratulations."

Sasuke looked up at Sakura as she spoke. He was paler then usual. Sakura licked the blood from her teeth. Sasuke's eyes widened as her eyes suddenly turned into the sharingan.

"When I drink the blood of special victims I get their abilities, seems I'll be using the sharingan from now on."

Sasuke could only collapse onto the ground everything going black.

Sakura smirked. She looked at the other two. Kakashi was still whimpering in pain trying to just move and Naruto was completely still in his crater. But with Sakura's acute vampire hearing she could hear his heart beat. She smirked again. Then she vanished into the night leaving the three defeated.

.--.-

All that crap about Vampires being killed by sunlight or silver or holy water was all made up. Vampires were immortal. There was two ways to kill them, they guarded one of the secrets close. They also had very acute senses. They could hear well, and could see far. They could find people by their body heat. They had acute taste too. Odd but true. Vampires in all were like the next evolution of humans. There was also a kind of hierarchy in the vampire world.

There were normal vampires. They were immortal but were weaker, couldn't change people into vampires, and when thirsty they couldn't control their bloodlust. Then there were elite vampires. They couldn't change people, but were stronger then normal vampires. They had little control over their bloodlust too, and a side effect of biting people was the person always died no matter how little blood they took. Then there were the rarest and strongest of vampires; the royal vampire. The royal vampire had very good control over their bloodlust and could withstand it, they were also very strong, and on top of that each royal vampire had special abilities. They were also in charge of all other vampires and could control them if they didn't listen.

Vampires had stayed hidden in the shadows though because they were hunted. Even though they were immortal you could kill them by burning them to ash or by burning their heart. At least you could with elite vampires and normal vampires. Royal vampires couldn't be killed that way. They would be kind of reborn from the ashes kind of like a phoenix. Vampires needed blood too. They couldn't die from not drinking it but if left without blood for to long their bloodlust would take over and they would kill everything in sight to get the blood. The bloodlust was when the vampire was very thirsty. Their thirst for blood would slowly take over their mind until they couldn't think straight. They would become driven by their thirst, forgetting themselves in the process. Once they had their fill of blood they would become aware but by then it could be too late and you would have sucked those around you dry.

Vampires could not kill each other though so many chose partners and drank their partner's blood so they never had to drink human blood. Children vampires would usually do that. Oh and most vampires couldn't have children. So only children that had been turned would count as children vampires and they were rarer then royal vampires, because it was a law that the royal vampires made, no vampire was to ever drink a child's blood. The only children who were usual turned were turned when a royal vampire finally lost control of their bloodlust, and even then the child would usually be sucked dry before they could regain control. And finally when a person was turned they would usually turn into a normal or elite vampire, few became royal vampires. So there were few vampires, but even fewer royal vampires.

.--.

Sakura ran through the trees at an even pace, her black cape/cloak fluttering behind her. It had been a month since she had left Konoha and she for one was quite happy with it. She kept her ANBU mask as a reminder though and used it as a disguise once in a while. Sakura heard the people coming towards her before she even sensed their masked chakara. She hid above them in a tree. She watched as they walked almost silently beneath her. They each wore a large black cloak littered in clouds. One had a large sword strapped to his back. They walked quickly making noise to quiet for a human to hear. They also masked their chakara and no human would sense them. But Sakura could hear them and she could sense their presence.

She watched them silently. She followed above them making no sound. They didn't once notice. But the one with long black hair and red eyes seemed tenser and was very wary, as if he knew he was being watched. Sakura laughed mentally as she followed them. They walked in utter silence neither speaking, the black haired one leading. Sakura followed them for over an hour before they reached a large cliff. The two slipped in the cave mouth. Sakura felt them dispel a genjutsu. She ran behind them in the dark and slipped past the genjutsu before it activated once again. The genjutsu had hid a door. It was closed already. Sakura opened it and slipped inside. She stepped into a large stone hall. The hall was empty. Sakura caught the end of a cloak disappearing into an archway near the end of the hall.

She smirked and moved towards it. She pressed her back against the wall and glance into the arch way. She looked into a living room. It had a few couches and a couple large chairs. There were also some book shelves and a TV. At the back of the living room was a set of stairs. Sakura guessed it led to bedrooms. Across from the living room that the two had slipped into was a kitchen. From where Sakura stood she could directly into it. No one was in it though. Most were in the living room. Sakura closed her eyes and focused. She could sense eight people in the living room. Two were on the floor above and nearing the stairs. Sakura smirked and stood still waiting. She felt the two people enter the living room.

"Itachi, Kisame." A man greeted. "Was the mission a success?"

"Yeah. Target is dead." The shark, man Kisame answered.

Sakura glanced into the living room. Everyone was looking at the orange haired man who had stepped into the living room, or at Kisame, who had plopped down on one of the couches. Sakura shrugged. In a sprint of speed to fast to see with the human eye, or even the sharingan, she hurried past everyone and up the stairs. All they would have felt was a small breeze. As Sakura reached the top of the stairs she slowed. She chuckled mentally and set off down the hall. It was a large long hall with doors on either side. She glanced in each of the doors looking for an office or something. She found five large bedrooms. It seemed partners shared.

She suddenly felt the people downstairs moving. Some stayed where they were, some headed for the kitchen, and two came up the stairs. Sakura sighed and ducked in the first room she saw. She cursed mentally as she felt the two people stop in front of the room she was in. She sighed and did fast hand signs. She had copied a trick from Shikamaru with her abilities. The shadows in the corner wrapped around her making her pretty much invisible. Even if the light turned on the few shadows left would conceal her. The door opened and Kisame and Itachi walked in. Itachi walked to the black bed near her and threw his cloak over the bed post. Sakura looked around as Kisame did the same.

The room was quite large. Itachi's bed was all black and Kisame's was all dark blues. The room it self was a deep crimson. The two each had a nightstand next to their bed and a dresser close by. The two also had their beds as far from one another as possible. Against one wall was also a door leading to a bathroom. Sakura wanted to sigh but she knew it would give her away and she didn't want to be found…yet. Sakura continued to watch the two as Kisame dropped his sword on his bed along with a bag.

Itachi also dropped a small bag on his bed. But Itachi unpacked his and set everything away neatly while Kisame kind of dumped his bag into his dresser and slammed it shut. Sakura smirked as Itachi scowled at Kisame who shrugged grinning. The two walked back out of the room. Sakura waited till they were down stairs before she dropped her jutsu and left the room. She searched the rooms till she found one containing a desk and papers. She sat at the chair and started to shuffle through the folders of paper. Most papers looked to be mission records and jobs to do, along with requests and people who wished to hire them. There were very few brave enough to do that.

Finally Sakura found the papers she wanted. She pulled them out and shut the desk drawer. She stood and walked back down the hall. She walked down the stairs slowly, knowing all the members were in the kitchen. It was dinner and she could smell some cooking, most was burnt. She smirked and walked back through the arch. She glanced into the kitchen and saw most of the Akatsuki members sitting around the island or at the table off to the side.

One member, who had an orange swirly mask, and who Sakura's information called Tobi, was trying to cook. He was having no success and none were helping, only watching in slight amusement. Sakura spotted the red head of the sand, Sasori, grab an apple. She realized she also felt a bit hungry. She burst in, to fast to see again, and grabbed the apple from his hand before leaping to the top of the cupboards. The whole place had high ceilings so there was enough room for her to sit of the overhead cupboards, and not hit the ceiling. She watched swing her legs slightly as Sasori blinked in slow motion. Deidara and Pein who had also seen it stared at his hand.

"What happened to the apple, un?" Deidara asked in surprise.

This caught almost everybody's attention.

"What?" Kisame asked.

"Sasori was holding and apple then suddenly it vanished, un." Deidara

Everyone blinked. Sakura took a bite out of the apple. It let out a crunch that everyone could hear in the silence. Everyone looked up at her and stared. She just smirked and chewed on the apple slowly.

"Who the hell are you and how the fuck did you get in here?" Hidan snarled.

Most now stood hands ready to do hand signs or holding weapons.

"I came in the door, moron. How did you think I got in?" Sakura asked in a mocking tone.

She held up the papers she had got from Pein's, the leaders, room. She started to read over the file and eat the apple.

"How did you get those from my room?" Pein asked in a deadly tone.

"It was quite simple. I just went in and grabbed them." Sakura said.

"You would have had to pass us all." Itachi said.

"I did."

"_How did you get in here too? _**You would have had to grab the apple and jump up there, so how come we didn't see you?"** Zetsu asked

"All I did was move quickly."

Everyone narrowed their eyes at her.

"What do you want with Akatsuki?" Pein asked.

"It seems you have killed one of my…co-workers." She said.

"We kill many people. If you are here for revenge, it is pointless." He snorted.

Sakura barred her teeth in a smile. Most took a step back.

"I am not here for revenge. I am here to thank you."

They stared at her. She dug through her pocket till she found a picture. She pulled it up and held it out. It showed a man in his early twenties with long brown hair and gold eyes.

"This is the man you killed correct?"

Most fell silent as they look the picture over.

"**That's the man you are here about?"** Zetsu asked

Sakura smiled.

"We had to burn to him to kill him. Itachi was the one who finally killed him with a fire jutsu. He was immortal, as much as Hidan was." Kisame said.

Sakura smirked.

"Of course. I thank you for killing him. He had run from us and was a criminal. I was sent to track him down."

"So you came into the lair of the deadliest group of people in the ninja world to thank them?" Konan asked.

Sakura smiled.

"Well you had better know we have some questions. And that you won't be leaving here alive." Pein said.

Sasori and Deidara had slid in front of the door and the others had spread out in a semi circle. Sakura just smiled. She took another bite of her apple and tossed the papers she held back at the man. They drifted down till Pein snatched them from the air. He tucked them in his pocket and looked back at her. Sakura set the apple down. Then put her hands on the wood as if about to push herself off. But none saw the movement. She was there, and the next moment she was in front of Pein, less than half a foot away. She leaned in as he tensed up. When her mouth was by his ear she smirked.

"I doubt you could kill me." She whispered.

"Shall we see?"

She felt his hand go right through her the middle of her chest. She leaned back as he pulled his arm away. Sakura pouted at him and their eyes all widened.

"Now that wasn't very nice. We just met and you already stuck your hand in my chest."

They just stared as the wound started to heal immediately. She sighed softly and let her cloak drop to the floor. He had cut the tie so it would no longer stay on her. She scowled as she looked at her outfit. She wore a deep red sleeveless Chinese shirt and some black baggy pants that sucked in at her ankles. She wore some delicate but durable red slipper like shoes. No blood would show up on it. She scowled deeper as she looked down at her shirt though. Now she had a huge hole in it showing a very fair amount of cleavage. She sighed and flipped her long pink braid over her shoulder. The Akatsuki were still staring at her. She rolled her eyes. She barred her teeth in a feral grin. Pein scowled but they all gaped as she let her sharingan flicker on, with the mangekyou. They glanced at Itachi who stared.

"How did you get those?" He asked.

"Easy enough. I copied them from your brother."

"Impossible. Besides my foolish little brother does not have the mangekyou."

"It was not impossible for me to copy them. And you are right; he does not have the mangekyou. I left the village though and made a very good friend in another village. I killed her and got the mangekyou. She was probably the best friend I have had in a while." Sakura mulled.

Itachi's eye narrowed. Suddenly Sasori attacked. He threw twenty senbon at her and she didn't bother to dodge. She let them all hit her. She looked down at them and grinned as she saw they were all dripping in a very strong poison. She just pulled the out one by one, letting them clatter against the floor. She looked up at the puppet master who was staring wide eyed.

"That was some very nice poison. To bad it won't affect me."

"What are you? You're the same as the other man?" Kakuzu asked.

"Are you a follower of Jashin?" Hidan asked.

"Jashin? Oh your god, no I'm not a follower." She smiled.

His eyes narrowed in distaste. Pein was watching her closely. Sakura looked them over. Her eyes landed on Deidara who was making some clay bombs. Her grin widened and her eyes lit up. She saw Deidara pale. She was around Pein and in front Deidara in the blink of an eye. He froze as she held his cheek in one hand. She grabbed his wrist in the other. He was frozen as she looked into his eyes. She smiled and glanced at his hand and the tongue that was hanging out.

"What an interesting bloodline." She purred.

She kicked Sasori back as he went to attack her. The red head flew back at a high speed and crashed into the wall, creating a large dint, and slid down slowly before trying to stand again. Sakura just looked at Deidara again. She let his hand go and it dropped. She knew he was itching to throw a bomb at her. He lashed out in a kick but she blocked and pressed up closer against him. He froze as her hand slid under the collar of his of his shirt.

.--.

The Akatsuki all stared as they saw Sasori fly back. His attack had been perfect and would have hit any one else, but the woman had thrown him back and it hadn't even looked like she had moved. Deidara went to kick her but she blocked and pushed up against him. They all wondered what the hell she was doing. Their eyes widened as she pulled his shirt collar back half over his one shoulder leaving his whole shoulder bare. Deidara went frozen looking in her eyes as if hypnotized. Then the woman bit down hard on his neck.

Most Akatsuki members started to gap. Deidara froze even more if possible. Then he let his eyes close and moaned as if in pain and pleasure. Sasori slowly sat up and his eyes narrowed at the woman who was … biting his partner. No one moved a moment. Then they realized they should help. They tried to move but gaped as they saw her shadow connected to all of theirs, and as they realized they couldn't move from the waist down. It was like the Nara's technique. But instead of her shadow just being connected to hers the shadow seemed to twist up their legs, rooting their legs to the ground.

They could only watch as the woman bit Deidara and as the blonde groaned in pain. Finally the woman pulled back. Deidara stumbled back and hit the wall. Everyone stared at his neck where there were two teeth marks. Sakura turned back to them and their eyes widened drastically. She licked the blood off of her lips to reveal two fangs poking out of her mouth. They stared. Then she lifted her hands grinning. They watched as two mouths appeared on her hands slowly. Deidara had dropped to the ground by now and hadn't noticed.

"You drink their blood to gain their abilities?" Kisame asked in disbelief.

"Yes. I am the only one with this ability. By those who know of this I've been labelled as the Copy Cat. I can copy bloodlines and special abilities by drinking their blood. I can also copy any jutsu after seeing it. Even without the Sharingan." She smirked.

She wiped the blood away and turned back to Deidara.

"Now come on, I didn't even suck enough blood away to kill you. I did take more then I needed, but I was thirsty. You should still be able to get up."

Deidara stood slowly looking tired.

"Here."

He caught a red pill she tossed him.

"Blood replenishing pill."

He looked at it a moment then ate it. He started to look a bit better.

"You have delicious blood by the way." The woman remarked

"You don't drink the blood just for the abilities." Pein stated.

"No, I live off of blood. All vampires do."

There was silence.

"You're saying you're a vampire?" Konan asked.

Sakura grinned.

"They don't exsist." Sasori said.

"Oh? And why do I have such abilities and why did I drink his blood the?"

"It's a kekkai genkai." Kisame suggested.

"But no other person in my family has ever been a ninja."

There was silence.

"Oh well, what ever. Believe what you want." She shrugged. "Now I must really be off. See ya."

Then she was gone in a blur. As soon as she was gone, the shadow released them. Pein ran to the arch leading to the hall but by the time he got there the door had already shut. He felt the genjutsu barrier open and close. He cursed. Sasori was next to Deidara looking at the wound. He touched it and Deidara grimaced.

"How does it feel to have your blood sucked out?" Kisame asked.

"Horrible, un." Deidara rasped with no humour.

He tried to stand but fell right back down again. Sasori growled giving him a hand up. Deidara winced and held the spot where she had bit.

"Vampires." Pein mulled gaining their attention. "Are real."

Everyone stared at him. He sighed and walked out of the room. He returned a moment later with an old black bound book. He set it on the table and opened it up.

"This is a book about vampires. It's written by a famous researcher. It's also filled with stories of Vampire victims. One person, who was rumoured to be a vampire also wrote a chapter. Read it if you want. I have some planning to do."

Then Pein was off. Konan moved to the book and started to read out loud while Sasori checked Deidara's bite wounds. He helped his partner bandage them.


	33. Why : Crossover

Author's POV:

"Why?"

It was the only word that passed through her blood red luscious lips.

"Why?" She asked as a large boomerang of demon bone tore a gash in her thighs.

"Why?" She asked as a jingling gold staff of a monk smashed into her ribs.

"Why?" She asked as blue fire from a fox swiftly clawed up her arms.

"Why?" She asked as claws from a large cat tore through her shoulder.

"Why?" She asked as an arrow embedded a little above her heart.

"Why?" She asked as a clawed hand ripped through her back coming dangerously close to her neck.

She fell back her legs hitting hard wood.

"Why?" She asked softly looking up.

No one heard her, not even the demons.

"Why?" She asked louder.

The hanyou with silver hair, white dog ears, a red outfit, gold eyes, and blood stained claws smirked. The small kitsune child on the two tailed neko's back laughed as the neko growled softly in amusement. The slayer woman smiled as she raised her large Hiraikotsu. The lecherous monk grinned and spread his feet apart. A laugh ran from the former Shikon No Miko, who aimed her bow.

"Why?" The woman asked.

"Why Kagome, you must understand you are useless, idiotic, and weak. We have no use for you." The hanyou laughed.

Kagome, the woman, looked down at the ground a few feet from her. A groan came from the body lying there. The body was actually a wolf clan leader, named Koga. He had wounds littering him and was lying in a pool of blood. Kagome found a tear running down her face. Poor Koga. He had tried to save her but he was no match for the others when they ganged up on him.

"I'm so sorry Koga." She whispered.

The wolf just whimpered in pain. The group hadn't even been merciful enough to give him a quick death. They just tortured him till Kagome had shown up on the scene.

"You don't need to apologize to that wolf now. You will go with him to hell. You'll have plenty of time to apologize then." Kikyo laughed.

Kagome's eyes looked at the group and drank their appearances in. They all held their blood covered weapons high ready to finish her off; ready to kill their old friend. Kagome looked down again as she schooled her face and emotions. When she was fifteen she would have given them the pleasure of crying but now she was nineteen. Four years did a lot to a person, especially three years of training.

"I am not weak." She whispered to herself.

But the hanyou heard also.

"Of course you are." He laughed. "How do you think we hurt you so easily?"

"I let you, hoping you would see your errors after you saw me hurt." She whispered looking back at them with cold emotionless eyes.

They all snickered.

"You were so weak that three years ago when a demon attacked us you ran away." Shippo said.

"Yeah. We hoped it had killed you but here you are three years later crawling back to us." Sango said.

"I did not crawl back. I came back to ask to join you."

"You hid for three years and you expect us to accept you back? You are too cowardly and weak." Miroku chuckled.

"I did not hide. I trained to be stronger." She said coldly.

"Who would train someone as weak as you?" Kikyo asked.

She let her arrow go and Sango released her Hiraikotsu before Kagome could answer. Two blurs shot from the trees; one black from the east, one white from the west. The two blurs knocked the weapons away as they stood protectively in front of Kagome. The whole group's eyes widened as they looked at Naraku and Sesshomaru who stood in front of Kagome. The two former blurs glanced at one another. Then they looked back to the group.

"What are you doing to my student?" Sesshomaru asked in an icy cold voice.

The group opened their mouths and starred.

"You taught her?" Inuyasha asked in disbelief.

"She has been my student for the past year and a half." Sesshomaru replied.

"No wonder she is weak." Inuyasha taunted.

"Don't you dare call my daughter weak." Naraku snarled at Inuyasha.

The group stumbled back gaping with budging eyes. Sesshomaru also slowly turned to Naraku surprise even showing on his face.

"Daughter?" Sango asked. "You adopted her?"

They all starred in disbelief.

"No. She is my biological daughter."

Everyone was gaping.

"That isn't possible." Miroku whispered.

"She was never from the future. I sent her there long ago, through the well. And she is not Kikyo's reincarnation she is Midoriko's. She is over sixty."

Kagome got the stares redirected at her. She lifted all the illusions around her. Her eyes turned blue instead of brown, she grew claws, and fangs, her ears pointed and she looked even prettier.

"I lived in the future since I was ten, fifty years almost. My first adoptive mother was my grandmother but since we age slowly she died and gave me to my present adoptive mother."

"Why throw her in the well?" Kikyo interrupted.

"At the time there was a war between the north and the south. I couldn't have my daughter, the heir of the south getting hurt." Naraku said.

They all gaped again. Sesshomaru starred a moment.

"The lord of the south is a full demon and has been around for over three hundred years." He said.

"That Onigumo thing was all an act. I have been playing with you because I was bored. I have just cloaked my self in illusions."

A barrier like thing around Naraku shattered. Everyone could feel his demon youki radiating off of him. He was at least as strong as Sesshomaru. Everyone starred.

"Why?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Bored." Naraku grinned.

Sesshomaru nodded.

"Father…"

Naraku turned to Kagome.

"Can we save Koga?"

The two lords glanced at the bloody wolf.

"The prince of the east?" Sesshomaru questioned.

"The one who pursues you?" Naraku asked.

"He tried to save me but they got him." She said.

The two lords looked at one another again.

"Allies?" Naraku asked grinning.

Sesshomaru nodded. Then they turned back to the group who had reigned in their shock. The two lords raised their claws. Sesshomaru's glowed green with Poison and Naraku's surrounded by scalding flames that worked better then Sesshomaru's claws. They were going to lunge at the group but suddenly they heard a yell. They all spun to see the well giving off purple light. The purple light sent out whips that constricted around Kagome.

"The well is going to pull me through." She said quickly.

Naraku went to help her but hit a purple barrier. He growled.

"I'll be fine. I always am. Don't kill them. I call those rights." Kagome hissed at the lords as the whips of purple dragged her back slowly.

Naraku attacked the barrier but to no avail.

"Don't fight it or you will hurt yourself. It will let me back through when I finish what ever task I am being pulled in for." She said.

Naraku pulled out the almost complete Shikon No Tama. He tossed it to Kagome who grabbed it.

"Two shards are still in Koga's legs. That will make sure you can come back." Naraku said.

Kagome nodded as she was jerked back. She let out a cry as she was sucked into the well.

The two lords saw the group behind them inch away. Even the group was smart enough to know they couldn't take on two annoyed demon lords. The two glanced at them. The group ran for it. The two lords didn't follow. Sesshomaru crouched by Koga.

"Explain please, in detail." Sesshomaru said as he helped the barely conscious prince sit up.

"I married a demoness named Saya. She was then loveliest thing to be seen on earth. We had only one child; Kagome. Then the war started when Kagome turned ten. It started when the lord of the North killed my mate Saya. I was furious of course. The war started. My daughter was the last thing I had beside my lands and people. Saya's family were dimension skippers. They are rare demons who can skip from dimension to dimension and almost always have spiritual powers. They need a route though. Saya never skipped between dimensions but I knew Kagome held her blood. My mate told me of the sacred tree that was said to be in every dimension. There was the well and I decided to try it. I made Kagome jump in and promise to stay there till called back here. She did. She stayed in the other dimension for forty long years. The war ended nine years after Kagome left. I tried to call her back but found I couldn't. I just had to wait for my daughter to return. Then I learned that Kikyo held the jewel of four souls. I knew Kagome was a reincarnation of Midoriko and knew that if the jewel disappeared for a while it would return to my daughter's body since she was the true Shikon No Miko. I thought maybe she would come because of that. Well you know what happened from there. I watched as my daughter first pulled Inuyasha from the tree too. I talked to her that night but she said she wanted to stay with them a while. Then she met her 'friends'. If you have noticed she never once really tried to kill me or you for that matter. She knew killing you would start a war. But her friends were fooled with her act. Of course she never planned to betray them. She had fallen for Inuyasha and I tried to sway her heart. But then at sixteen in human years she overheard Inuyasha and the others talking about killing her. She ran to me immediately while the group was distracted with a demon. I trained her for a while and helped her. Then she set off to look for you."

"Was she a spy?" Sesshomaru asked.

"No. She said you would be a good teacher. I taught her hand to hand and how to wield things such as a scythe, mace, and axe but she went to you to learn the sword and whip."

"What kind of demon are you?" He asked Naraku.

"I am a spider demon. I also can control fire."

"Did Kagome learn your abilities?" Sesshomaru asked.

"Yes."

"Then she should be fine."

Naraku nodded.

"Now let's help this prince of the east here. He protected her and we owe him." Sesshomaru said.

"Of course." Naraku said.

Naraku grabbed Koga's other arm. Suddenly a two headed dragon, a girl, and an imp burst into the clearing.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I hope you are going to dispose of that bloody weak demon." Jaken screeched.

"How do you put up with him?" Naraku asked softly.

"It is very hard." The western lord sighed.

"WHAT IS NARAKU DOING HERE?!" The imp screamed.

"Silence Jaken. This 'bloody weak demon' is actually the prince of the east."

Jaken gulped.

"And Naraku is the lord of the South. We are allies."

The imp just fainted. Rin, the sixteen year old girl, (Let's say she was twelve when she met Sesshomaru) laughed and skipped over with the dragon tailing. She swung Jaken onto the dragon and gave us all a smile.

"Do you want me to treat him lord Sesshomaru?" The girl asked.

"Yes Rin." The old lord said almost softly.

Rin nodded and ran at the dragon. She un-strapped a basket of herbs and bandages. Then she skipped back to the two. The two lords laid the wolf prince down. He opened his eyes a crack and groaned almost inaudibly. He tried to sit up but Rin pushed him back. He saw her and closed his eyes again.

"Kagome." He whispered.

Rin did look like Kagome with long black hair and dark eyes. But Rin had some hair in a ponytail and wore a kimono. Rin sighed as she stripped the prince without a second thought. Sesshomaru and Naraku just leaned against a tree and started to talk.

"So why do you let the girl follow you around?" Naraku asked.

Sesshomaru looked at Naraku then back at the girl. Naraku grinned as he saw love in the western lord's eyes. Naraku could not tell if it was father daughter love or love, love. He just grinned and watched as the girl treated the now unconscious prince. Naraku wondered when Kagome would return.

Pein stood outside Akatsuki's base in a clearing. He stood at the edge looking at the green clearing. It was a regular clearing with green grass tall trees and flowers. The only difference was an old well in the center of the clearing. A ways away stood a huge tree that was said to be sacred. Pein opened a scroll he carried and started to read a certain part. It was on how to summon a demon. Not one from their dimension but from another dimension. There was a theory that there were many dimensions. One is where the tailed beast came from. But no one was sure….

Well Pein had found this ancient scroll. It talked about a certain group of demons that were called 'dimension skippers'. They could travel between the dimensions. It said that strong ninja could summon them. It also said the demons were rare and there aren't many but they are very strong; both the males and females. The only catch is that if someone summoned them, the demon got to choose whether or not they want to help the summoner. And if someone summoned them from their home they arrive in the condition they left; so if they were a child there they would be a child here.

Pein was interested because the demons were rumoured to be even stronger then the tailed beasts. Orochimaru has an army behind him and one of his priorities was to wipe Akatsuki out. Besides that all the hidden villages are against Akatsuki. They could use some help. Besides, Pein was just curious. The only danger was if he summoned the demon and the demon was mad, blood thirsty, angry, or annoyed he would be in trouble. Pein shook the thoughts aside and gently tossed his scroll behind him. Pein took a deep breath and calmed a bit. Then he did a long serious of fast hand signs. His chakra flared and Pein grinned. He felt as if it had worked. He blinked as a bright violet light came from the well. Suddenly a person was thrown out by long purple whips. Then the light died and Pein felt most of his chakra was gone. He all starred at the 'demon' in front of them. It was a she.

She had long poker straight raven-black hair. Her eyes were deep water blue with wisps of red. She also had small claws and fangs. She had pointed ears too. She wore a pair of red Hakamas and a red kimono type top that was tied with a black obi. The whole outfit was littered with flying black ravens. At her waist she wore two swords, a small pouch, and a small axe. She also had a bow, a quiver of arrows, and a scythe on her back. He also noticed a small bracelet that looked like a black snake winding up her arm. The demon stood quickly. He couldn't completely tell if she was a demon since she looked quite human but the energy coming off of her and some of her appearance was different from a humans. The demoness looked around and rested her eyes on him. She stood slowly.

"Are you a demon from the 'dimension skippers' clan?" Pein asked clearly.

"Yes." She said.

"I am Pein. I summoned you."

"Ahhh. So you were the one who pulled me to this dimension." She said.

Pein nodded curtly.

"May I ask what this land is like? Do you have demons, humans, spirits?"

"Ninja and nine stray demons." Sasori said.

"Why did you summon me?" She asked.

"I was curious to try this summoning. And I am the leader of a group of the strongest but most wanted ninja in this world. Our group is called Akatsuki. I have an enemy who has a large army behind him. Besides that all the large hidden villages of ninja want our heads. We could use the help of a strong demoness such as you."

Then woman looked straight at me.

"I must get every fact before I choose to help you or not."

Pein sighed. He guessed she would say something like that.

"You could stay at our base while you decide. I can swear that I will not kill you and order the others not to but they are criminals and I know two who would love to sacrifice or eat you, even against my orders."

She nodded.

"I can look after myself."

Pein smirked.

"I will give you a room and as much time as you want to decide. Or you may leave now."

"My transportation is closed. It will not let me back to my dimension unless I can give a good reason why I will not help you."

Pein grinned. She sighed.

"I will also swear not to harm any of you as long as you don't harm me."

Pein nodded.

"So you will think on it?"

"Yes Pein."

"May I ask your name then?"

"My name is Kagome."

Pein nodded. Kagome straightened and Pein starred as he noticed her thighs contained two deep gashes, her arms were also cut deeply. Her back was raked with what looked to be claws, her one arm was burned, and he saw her breath as if she had some broken bones. He also saw an arrow near her heart and wondered how he hadn't noticed it earlier.

"You are wounded."

"I'm, fin…"

She cut off and doubled over coughing up some blood. Pein saw now why she hadn't tried to fight.

"I'm fine. It's nothing." She said.

"How did you get those? Some don't look to be made by normal weapons."

"You are correct. These were made by two demons, two humans with special weapons, one priestess, and one half demon."

"Who were they? They can't get to this dimension can they?" Pein asked scowling.

"No they can't get here. And they were my best friends."

There was silence.

"Your best friends tried to kill you?"

"Yes. They were fools."

"Did you kill them?" Pein asked.

"No. You summoned me before I could."

Pein almost winced. He had come between a strong demon and its revenge. Not the best position.

"Let me take care of those wounds." He said.

"No."

Pein blinked in surprise.

"They are just minor."

"But most people wouldn't live with those wounds."

"Demons can live through a lot. This will be healed before the day is up."

"But you have an arrow in your heart."

Kagome blinked and looked down.

"Oh, almost forgot about that."

She grasped it and plucked it out like it was nothing.

"Shouldn't you be dead?" Pein asked softly.

"I have seen demons get a whole arm through their heart and live. One demon had his entire body except his head disintegrated and lived."

Pein blinked. That would be handy to have but it would make it hard to kill others.

"So are we going?" Kagome asked

"Yes. But can you somehow hide your demon attributes, your weapons, and your wounds. My group will be very suspicious for a while."

"Can do sir." She grinned.

Suddenly she looked a normal school girl with a large bag on her back.

"I will get you some clean clothes when we get to the base." He said.

"Thanks."

He nodded and motioned for her to follow. He was a bit surprised when she walked almost perfectly. He had thought she would be able to barely walk at all. But she didn't been seem to have a single injury. She smiled softly at him. Her smile was warm and soft and made even him smile back. He looked away quickly and walked straight ahead. The two walked down the trail they were on for less then five minutes. Then they popped out by a large stone house *coughmansioncough*.

"If you have so many enemies how come your base is so obvious?" She asked.

"We have a huge genjutsu, or illusion, surrounding the area a mile in each direction. If any one that does not have one of our special rings on tries to enter the illusion activates. It turns the person around or makes them go around with out letting them know it is happening. The genjutsu was made by my self and some others so I doubt anyone would be able to tell there was one."

"Nice." She said.

Pein nodded. They walked up to the door and inside the light halls. he led her silently down the winding halls to a room. Pein shooed her in. It was his room. He walked to my large closet and opened it. He ripped through the contents to a box. Pein opened it to find an outfit like the Akatsuki cloaks but fighting kimono style. He held it out to Kagome.

"The member who designed the cloaks made this one. We all very much doubted we would find a wearer because there are not very many strong but wanted kunoichi."

Kagome nodded and gently took it. Pein pointed to a bathroom.

"Wash off quickly and put that on. Are you hungry?"

Kagome shook her head.

"Then we don't need to worry about food at the moment. Now I am going to gather the other members in the meeting room. I will fetch you when they are there. Please don't leave this room till then or you might have some unexpected attacks."

Kagome nodded slowly. Then she walked to the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Pein just walked from the room quickly. He walked to the living room first. He found Hidan watching TV and arguing with Deidara. Tobi sat on the floor playing a game boy. They looked up as Pein cleared his throat.

"Meet in the meeting room in ten minutes."

The three nodded. Then Pein turned and walked to the surprisingly large library. He found Itachi and Sasori here.

"Meeting in ten minutes." He said.

When he got nods he walked outside again. He walked to the side of the base to Zetsu's large garden that was surrounded by a large fence. The plant man was talking to his plants and to himself. Pein gave him the same message and walked off to find Kakuzu and Kisame. Kakuzu was in his room doing some maters of money and Kisame had been in his room feeding his ridiculous amount of fish. They all nodded. Pein finally headed back to his room after five minutes. Kagome was still in the shower. He had expected that. He sat in his desk chair and replaced the scroll he had used today. He started to read a small book as he waited.

.--.

Kagome tried to wash quickly. She didn't want to keep the leader waiting. He seemed nice. She had learned that he was the leader of a very strong criminal organization with most of the country as his enemies. Kagome sighed. She wished she had got to kill Inuyasha and them. But that could always wait. This was something new; something exciting. She sighed again. She wanted to stay here and learn about this place but she didn't know if she wanted to be tied to this organization. From what she had heard it contained all men. She wouldn't mind as long as they were good looking and had at least some manners. The leader at least had good manners and he was okay looking even with his absurd amount of piercings.

Kagome shook the thoughts off and quickly scrubbed the blood from her self. She let the water wash over her wounds. She took a deep breath and let her miko powers flow through her. Her wounds immediately started to heal. She grinned. She had mastered her miko powers a couple years ago and was very glad about that. They saved her a good deal of suffering and trouble. She waited till all the wounds were healed and all the blood was gone. Then she slipped from the shower and grabbed the silky fighting kimono Pein had handed her. She slipped it on. She also found a ring wrapped in the obi. She slipped it on her finger and smiled. Then she stuffed the Shikon No Tama which she had been holding in her pouch which she attached to her obi. She also slipped a small necklace with a symbol on.

She gently ran a finger up the black snake coiled around her arm. It was a small snake, smaller then a garter snake. It was pure black with red eyes. It had stayed coiled on her arm while she had been summoned and as she had fought so it looked like an ordinary bracelet. As soon as her finger ran up it, stroking it, it lifted its head and the blood red tongue forked out sniffing the air. She smiled down at the snake. It wasn't an ordinary snake. It was a demon. Mostly called shadow snakes. It could change size from small enough to act as a bracelet to as large as a large house. And they had a few other abilities. The snakes rarely stayed by themselves. They always attached themselves to a good strong master as soon as the opportunity arose. He was very loyal to Kagome. She had found him in a forest and he had taken a liking to her. His name was Hiro.

"Hiro will you stay acting as a bracelet?"

Hiro bobbed his head.

"You may come out at any time as long as you stay only this size."

He bobbed his head again before circling her arm again and laying still. One good thing about shadow snakes was they could be very patient. She stroked him a few more times. She finally pulled her sleeve over him to hide him. Then she glanced at her weapons. She had taken the illusions off of them. Kagome scooped them up and walked out of the bathroom. She found Pein reading a scroll at his desk. He looked up at her and starred. He starred for a few seconds not moving.

"Yes?" She asked

She could swear a small blush rose to his cheeks.

"Nothing, you just look good in that."

She sighed. She had noticed that who ever had made it was good at designing clothes. The whole kimono clung in the right places and showed all her curves. It would make most people stare if it was on someone with a good figure. And Kagome had to admit she herself had a nice figure. She looked at Pein again.

"Where can I put my weapons?"

"I'll show you to a room."

Kagome nodded and followed Pein still carrying her armful of weapons. She followed him back out of his room and down the halls. One thing she had noticed when he had brought her in here was that the halls were like a large maze. She had seen plenty of dead ends and even with her demon senses she got turned around. She shrugged; she would learn her way about soon. Soon they stopped at a door. Pein opened it and Kagome stepped in. It was a deep blue room with black furniture. It contained a double bed, a dresser, a nightstand, a shelf, and a desk with a chair. It also had a door leading to a light blue bathroom.

"We always have a couple rooms ready in case we get a new member or important guest. Both happen rarely." Pein said.

Kagome nodded and gently set her weapons on the bed. She already had a few daggers hidden on her body. She also knew hand to hand combat, how to wield fire, and she always had her miko powers and her claws. Pein motioned her back out of the room. She followed silently as he led her to a set of large doors. Then he turned back to her.

"This is the meeting room. All the members are inside. Would you wait her till I call you?"

Kagome nodded. Pein grinned and slipped in the doors leaving Kagome alone. She heard him start to talk. He probably thought she couldn't hear but with her demon hearing she would hear the whole meeting.

.--.

Pein walked into the meeting room and everyone stopped talking. He grinned as he slipped into his chair at the head of the table. Everyone watched him. He seemed excited and cheerful. He rarely looked like that.

"Now I called this meeting because I would like to announce we have an important guest staying with us."

There was silence.

"The special guest is not one who we will keep in the dungeon. They are very special and very strong."

There was more silence. They had never had a guest who would stay as a special guest unless that person was down below in the dungeon, held for a ransom or information against their will.

"The person must be treated with respect. None of you will attempt to kill him." He said dangerously. "I doubt you would be able to kill him. If you attack them they will kill you. We have a truce at the moment but attack and he will break it. Trust me; if you attack him you won't survive."

"Who is this person?" Sasori asked.

"He is strong, quick, smart. He knows weapons and fighting. I am hoping he'll become a future member but that choice is up to him."

There was even more silence. If Akatsuki wanted someone as a member the person wasn't given a choice. They either joined or died. Most joined after some…persuasion.

"Why not make him join, un?" Deidara asked.

"He could easily stop us from forcing him." He said bluntly.

Everyone sat in silence still.

"So where are they?" Kakuzu asked.

"Waiting outside the door." Pein said.

"May we meet him?" Tobi asked childishly.

Pein gave a curt nod.

"Kagome please come in." He called.

Everyone scowled. Kagome was a woman's name. The doors opened and everyone starred with open mouths. At the door stood a woman with long silky black hair, deep blue eyes, and luscious lips. She wore a fighting kimono made out of the same design as the cloaks but the kimono clung to the woman's curves showing a lot. It was hard not to stare, for most of the members. But after a moment they jumped to the next shocking news. A WOMAN IN AKATSUKI!? It was unheard of. Hidan and Kisame both immediately thought women were weak and this one was no different. But the other members even Tobi wondered. Leader said she could beat them and they weren't strong enough to force her to join so she had to be good. Very good.

"Why is a fucking woman in here?! She can't be the fucken guest." Hidan said.

"Yes she is. I suggest you treat her with more respect." Pein said.

He stood and motioned the woman over.

"Are these the members Pein?" She asked.

Everyone was a bit surprised at her tone. She sounded as if Pein was her equal or he was even lower then her self. Even Itachi spoke to Pein with more respect. Everyone waited to see if Pein would get mad. He just smiled and nodded to her. Everyone starred at them.

"Yes. These are the members of Akatsuki. Excuse their manners."

"Of course." Kagome said. "Hello my name is Kagome."

She bowed a greeting. Deidara suddenly grinned.

"I'm Deidara, un. I'm an artist and bomb specialist, un." He said.

"Nice to meet you Deidara." She smiled.

Tobi waved childishly.

"Tobi's name is Tobi! Tobi is a good boy!"

Kagome let a small grin slip on to her face as her blue eyes danced with mirth and she gave a curt wave back.

"I'm Sasori, a puppet master. I am Deidara's partner." Sasori said in a bored tone.

"_I am Zetsu."_ Zetsu's white side smiled.

"**Yes, we are Zetsu**." His dark side.

"Bipolar and a cannibal. He's also Tobi's partner." Pein said to her.

We all expected her to look horrified out or scream.

"Well you wouldn't want to eat me. I bite back." She winked.

Zetsu looked surprised a moment. The others were also a bit surprised by her response.

"I'm Kakuzu, I am Hidan's partner."

"He's hung up on money." Pein said.

Kagome nodded and bowed her head to Kakuzu politely.

"I'm Kisame. I'm a swordsman. Itachi is my partner." Kisame grinned.

"A swordsman? I'll have to try you out." She smiled.

"You know the sword?" He asked.

Kagome nodded. Everyone stored this in their memory.

"Uchiha Itachi." Itachi said blankly.

Kagome smirked.

"A man of few words?" She asked.

Pein nodded.

"And I'm Hidan." Hidan said squinting at her.

Suddenly he gasped and stood up. Before anyone knew what he was doing he was in front of her. He grabbed her necklace and examined it. Pein scowled. Kagome waved him off and let Hidan look at the necklace. Then she suddenly grinned and grabbed the one around his neck. She held it up to hers and we all gaped at the identical necklaces.

"You are a follower of Jashin." Hidan grinned.

"Same with you."

We stood gaping. Even Pein was gaping slightly.

"Not another one!" Kisame cried.

The two glanced at him.

"At least she's not a filthy heathen." Hidan said.

"I am not what you may call the perfect follower. I make a few sacrifices here and there and do some rituals but I am not as extreme as some." Kagome said.

"So you are religious?" Pein asked.

Kagome looked at him. Then her eyes flashed over us.

"Yes but that does not interfere with anything."

Pein nodded. Hidan finally dropped her necklace. He slowly walked back to his chair and flopped down. He didn't seem to mind the woman as much now. Everyone was still silent though. Kagome looked over everyone very slowly. Everyone got the idea she was searching their soul with those unreal blue eyes of hers. None met her eyes except Itachi who looked away a moment later. She smirked when she had finished looking them over.

"Well Pein they are strong. And quite good looking, if I may add. I am tempted to join."

Pein smirked and nodded. Everyone watched her still. She was a bit forward. Suddenly Tobi squeaked.

"Kagome you have a snake on your waist."

Everyone blinked and looked at the black snake circling her. She just smirked and let the snake slither up to her neck where it wrapped around and looked at everyone.

"This is Hiro. He is my companion."

Everyone starred at the snake. They all clearly saw his red eyes and tried to remember if they had ever heard of snakes having red eyes. Kagome just seemed to ignore it and turned back to Pein. She smiled softly.

"May I ask what time it is?"

"It's a little before dinner." He replied.

She nodded. She glanced over us.

"I must learn everything while here. Do you have any books on ninja, and such?"

Everyone looked thoughtful a moment. Why would she need books on ninja? Didn't she know what they were? She had to. She also had to be a strong ninja to join this organization.

"We have a large library." Pein said.

Kagome smiled. Then she glanced over everyone again. She squinted.

"You are all too thin."

Everyone blinked. Why did she care?

"Shall I make some thing for dinner?" She asked.

"Can you cook, un?" Deidara asked.

Kagome nodded.

"Then yes! Anything is better then Tobi's cooking, un!"

Everyone nodded agreement.

"You don't have to cook though Kagome." Pein said.

"Nonsense, I would like to cook."

He shrugged.

"Tobi you show her to the kitchen."

Tobi nodded and skipped to Kagome. He clasped her hand and skipped off leading her out the door. Pein didn't leave and neither did the other members. They waited till Kagome and Tobi were out of hearing distance.

"So how is she special?" Sasori asked.

Pein looked at them thoughtfully.

"It will be explained in due time." He said.

"**And why do you let her talk to you as if you are equal?"** Zetsu asked.

"She is at least my equal in strength." Pein muttered.

Everyone fought the urge to gap. She was strong as their leader? Pein looked at them with narrowing eyes. They all listened closely.

"I suggest you do not make her an enemy. Or you will not live. I have no control over her. No one does. I don't know much about her either. Except that she is very strong."

"I didn't see any chakra in her." Itachi said. "I can't sense her either. Like she isn't really there."

"I do not know if she has chakra but she is still strong. While she is here we need to teach her about the ninja villages, about ninja, and about Akatsuki."

Everyone nodded slowly. Pein looked thoughtful a moment.

"She is in the room near Sasori's; the blue one. While she is her try to earn her trust. We want her to join us. We don't want her to join any of the villages."

"So she doesn't belong to any ninja village?" Kakuzu asked.

"Correct."

"But she is strong, un?" Deidara asked.

"I already said she was. She is also quite pretty."

He muttered the last part to himself but the others heard. They all agreed.

"Well this meeting is over."

Everyone nodded and stood. They all sort of drifted off. But they were soon gathered in the kitchen. They had all been led by the delicious smell wafting from the kitchen. They all stood in the kitchen starring at the table of food. Kagome smiled at all of them.

"Dig in."

They immediately sat and dished out the food. No one spoke as they all started do eat. When they finished they all thanked Kagome. They talked for a while then drifted off to their rooms leaving Pein and Kagome in the kitchen. Pein then looked at Kagome.

"So you are religious."

"Yes."

"So you believe in Jashin?" He asked.

"I have met him before."

Pein gaped.

"Met him?" He asked.

"In my world there are many gods and a few even get to meet them. I met Jashin once in the woods. We had a chat and after that I started to worship him a bit. My father also worships him. He is the patron god of our lands."

"Lands?"

"I am the heir to the southern throne. In my world the land is divided into four. Demon lords rule each land. The demon lords are the strongest beings besides the gods which rarely interfere in mortal doings. I am the heir to the south. I'm one of the strongest demons in my world."

Pein starred a moment. She was higher in rank then the kages and she was probably stronger. He nodded slowly after a minute.

"So what do you think of them?" He asked.

"Well they are all quite handsome, even the plant and the shark in their own ways."

He grinned.

"They are strong too. Itachi seems to be the strongest and coldest."

"Itachi is responsible for the genocide of the Uchihas. None know his reasons. But one day he killed them all only sparing his younger brother. He was fourteen at the time and the Uchihas were the largest and strongest clan in Konoha."

Kagome nodded slowly. 'So he killed his family. I wonder about his reason.' She thought to herself.

"They are a bit suspicious of you." Pein said suddenly.

"I know." She said.

"So what will you do while staying here."

"I will read as much as I can and I was wondering if I could go on missions with your teams."

He nodded. Then he stood. Kagome and he both walked out the door and down the halls. She noticed he looked her up and down a couple times.

"I have to admit Sasori did a very good job designing the fighting Kimono."

"So the puppet man made this?" Kagome asked.

"Yes."

"So what are the weapons or attacks they are all best at?"

"Deidara is a bomb expert. He makes bombs from clay. Kisame has his giant sword, Samehade, Sasori has his puppets, Hidan has his scythe, and Itachi is good at everything. But watch out for Itachi's eyes. He has the ability to suck you into a world in his mind. He has complete control over the world and uses it for torture. He'll torture you for three days but it'll be only a second outside of his mind. He is very good at torture too. He is also quite unpredictable so be wary of him."

Kagome nodded and absorbed this. Suddenly she saw the library. She stopped.

"I'm going to read."

"Okay. Everyone gets up at about eight or so and they aren't quiet so you won't sleep much past eight."

"As a demon I need little sleep."

He slowly nodded and waved before walking off to his own room.

Kagome's POV:

I walked into the large library and sighed happily. I loved books. Besides that I was alone now; finally all alone. In the feudal era I had stayed at Sesshomaru's castle for the past couple years and I hadn't had much alone time. Then when I had first come here I had had to be surrounded. I liked it here though. These people didn't bow, scrape, run from me, attack me, or pester me. For a bunch of criminals they seemed nice. Pein seemed nice to. I could tell he wasn't too used to treating people as equals but soon he would. I needed to find out about these 'enemies' though. I shook the thoughts away as I walked down the shelves. I picked out an armful of books and walked back to a comfy looking chair. I set all the books beside me and pulled the first one form the pile. Hiro slid off my arm and onto my lap. He curled up and hissed slightly.

"Ssso Lady Kagome, do you likesss it here?" He asked.

I had gotten used to his 'sss' sounds and his talking long ago.

"Yes. Well enough at least."

"Will we be ssstaying?"

"For a while."

"Will we be in thisss room long?"

"Yes. I plan to stay here for the night."

"My I go explore then?"

"Go ahead but no size changing, and no trouble making."

"Of courssse lady Kagome."

He dropped from my lap and slid down the floor. I watched till he rounded a corner then returned to my book.

.--.

I read for hours. I sped through the books memorizing the important things. The whole time I practiced some of the stuff too. By morning I had grasped chakra control. It was actually quite simple after learning how to use my miko powers. The two powers were very similar but slightly different. After I had that down I easily memorized my hand signs. By eight a.m. I could already make shadow clones of myself along with knowing most of the history of the hidden villages. At eight I saw Tobi skip past the door. I stood and stretched slowly. Then I slipped silently out of the door. I followed Tobi to the kitchen. Once there he looked around.

"Tobi wonders where Kagome is." He muttered to himself.

"What do you want me for Tobi?" I asked from the door.

He spun.

"Tobi was wondering if Kagome would help him make breakfast."

I nodded and he immediately clapped and started to pull stuff from the cupboards. As soon as I gotten him started I ducked back to the library and grabbed a book I had been reading. I returned to the kitchen and started to read while I helped Tobi. Soon we had the table set with stacks of pancakes. When everything was set nicely Pein walked in. He blinked then grinned. I smiled at him over my book then returned to my cleaning as I continued to read.

"BREAKFAST! GET DOWN HERE NOW!" A yell came from behind me.

I turned to see Pein grinning again. Suddenly Deidara and Sasori scrambled through the door. They blinked at the pancakes then sat and started to eat. The others soon followed. I just continued to read ignoring their stares as I cleaned up and gave them what they needed. It was quite easy to do while reading, since I had my miko senses to warn me of stuff. Suddenly I heard Itachi clear his throat. He had just walked in the door and was looking at me. I looked up at him along with everyone else. He held up Hiro by the tail. Hiro just dangled sniffing the air.

"I found him in my room." He said. "If he comes in there again I will cut his head off."

"That won't work."

He blinked at me.

"To kill him you need to cut his eyes out." I said.

There was silence a minute.

"Was that a joke, un?" Deidara asked.

I just clicked my tongue and grabbed Hiro as Itachi tossed him to me. Hiro immediately snaked up my arm to my neck.

"I told you not to get into trouble."

His head sunk as if he was sulking. The others watched a moment then returned to eating as Itachi sat down. I leaned against the counter eating my own pancakes and reading. Just as I was taking the last bite of my pancake I sensed something flying towards me. Without even looking away from my book I dropped my own fork, snatched the thrown fork from the air, threw it back at the thrower, and grabbed my fork before it hit my plate, then flipped the page and continued reading.

"Wow, un." Deidara said.

I looked up to see him leaning against the wall his shirt pinned by the fork which was very close to his throat.

"That was amazing. You didn't even look up and you still aimed perfectly, un."

Everyone was starring.

"What are you talking about?"

He blinked at my response.

"I missed." I smirked.

He paled. The others all starred at me. There was silence a moment.

"Joking. I won't try to kill any of you as long as you give my no reason."

They nodded slowly and Deidara pulled the fork from the wall. He glanced at me as he walked to the sink and dropped his dishes in. I smiled at him and his caution melted as he smiled back. The others soon followed his example and dropped their dishes in the sink. Then most split and headed off to do something. Except Hidan and Itachi who stayed. Itachi didn't seem to be moving any time soon and Hidan watched me as I cleaned up.

"So you worship Jashin."

"Yes."

He nodded. Then he stood and grinned.

"We should do a ritual together sometime."

I almost felt a blush rise. He wasn't asking me to just come worship a god with him. Then Hidan walked off smirking. Itachi watched me. I was sure he saw my blush.

"I am guessing there is a hidden meaning behind just asking you to come join him in his rituals." He said.

"You only invite good…'friends' to do rituals with you, not just any other follower."

He smirked. Then he looked at Hiro who glared at him a moment

"You were serious, about cutting his eyes out, weren't you?"

"Very."

"Is he a special summoned snake? And why tell me his weakness."

"No. He is just my companion. But he is different from other snakes. And I don't think you could cut out his eyes easily."

Itachi watched me. I snapped the book I had finished shut.

"I saw your stack of books in the library. Were you in there all night?" He asked.

"Yes."

"You do not seem that tired."

"My secret." I winked.

He watched me with the same emotionless eyes. I grinned and strode out the door back to the library.

.--.

I read more till noon. Then Pein came and sat with me. We talked about the more recent stuff and the stuff not found in books. At dinner Tobi interrupted and asked for my help making dinner. I agreed to help. I liked Tobi and had agreed to teach him as much cooking as I could the night before. I excused myself from Pein and followed the skipping member to the kitchen. When dinner was ready everyone ate. By the time they were done it was getting late. After I had cleaned up I walked to my room. I was going to sleep for a while. I had a shower first and changed before I crawled into my bed.

.--.

I woke from my sleep but kept my eyes shut. I could sense two people in my room. One was at the door, and one was walking towards my bed as quietly as they could. No human would hear or sense them but I could easily smell tem, sense them with my miko powers, and hear them. I made my arm reach under my pillow. I moved it so neither of the people would see. Hiro slipped off my arm and wrapped around my small weapon pouch dragging it to me. I opened it. I grasped the kunai and shuriken inside. As soon as the one walking towards me was reaching for me I sat straight up. I threw about five shuriken at the man in the doorway. I smirked as I heard the rustle of cloth that was being pinned by my weapons. In my other hand at the same moment was a kunai. It snaked for the person-in-front-of-me's throat to kiss it. I felt a bead of blood roll down my knife and hit my hand.

I opened my eyes now. I saw Deidara looking a bit pale as my kunai was pointed at his throat. Sasori in the doorway looked startled. I saw that all five of my shuriken had snagged his clothing and pinned it to the doorway. One of them was even touching the skin of his neck. I just watched them; none of us saying anything. Finally I heard Deidara take a breath. I pulled my knife back and slid from my bed. Deidara slowly lifted a hand to his throat and rubbed it staying still. I walked to Sasori and pulled out the shuriken. He didn't move, just watched me. When I had all my weapons back in my pouch I looked at the two. I knew they had come to wake me, not hurt me. I couldn't sense any intent in their aurora. I was grabbed my Akatsuki kimono and walked to my bathroom. I changed quickly. When I emerged the two were gone. I glided down the halls to the kitchen. I stopped in the doorway and listened.

"It was scary, un." Deidara said.

"What happened?" Pein asked.

"I was just reaching to wake her up, un. Then before we could blink Sasori was pinned to the door by some shuriken and I had a cold blade against my throat. We hadn't even seen her move, un."

"Your eyes weren't able to follow my movement, that's all."

Deidara jumped as I spoke. All the members look at me. I was utterly blank.

"Next time I suggest calling me. If you come to close I won't be hesitant to show you I'm serious."

Everyone was silent. I just walked to the stove and started to help Tobi. I felt them all watching me but ignored their stares.

"You aren't human." Itachi's voice cut through the air.

Everyone looked at him. I turned and leaned against the counter.

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

"You do things no human can and you don't strike me as human." He said calmly.

I glanced at Pein. He sighed. Everyone looked at him.

"I guess you can tell them Kagome." He said.

"_Tell us what_?" Zetsu's white side asked.

They all looked back at me I made a thoughtful expression.

"I could tell them." I mulled out loud.

"Tell us what?" Tobi asked bouncing up and down in an excited manner.

"You don't have to tellsss them lady Kagome." Hiro hissed his head poking from my collar.

All attention was directed at him as the Akatsuki gaped.

"Did he just-" Deidara started.

"Yesss I talked pathetic mortal." Hiro hissed.

"Now Hiro, be good. No name calling, eating people, or fighting." I said sternly.

"Okaysss lady Kagome." He bobbed his head.

"That little thing couldn't eat us, un." Deidara said.

"Yousss want me to try?" Hiro asked.

"Go ahead, un." Deidara said.

"We're getting off topic. How come the snake can talk?" Sasori asked.

Hiro and Deidara ignored him. Hiro hissed again and dropped to the floor. He coiled up. Suddenly he started to grow. They all watched with wide eyes as he quickly took up space. When he was as big as me at least he hissed again. Deidara gulped and ducked behind Sasori. They were all looking at the snake in wonder.

"Hiro." I said.

He hissed once more at Deidara then he shrunk to the size of a cobra and wrapped back around me.

"What the fuck is with the snake?" Hidan asked.

"Is he a summoned snake?" Kakuzu asked.

"No human." Hiro said.

"If he's not a normal snake or a summoned snake what is he, un?" Deidara asked.

"More importantly what are you?" Itachi asked me.

I sighed again. I lifted my barriers quickly. My fangs grew, my claws grew, my hair even grew. Then I looked up and grinned showing off my fangs.

"**You aren't human."** Zetsu said.

"She's a demon." Pein said.

"A demon container?" Kisame asked.

"No a demon." Pein said.

"Why is she not in a human container?" Tobi asked.

"Because she is not from this dimension. I summoned her from another." Pein sighed.

"_There are other dimensions_?" Zetsu asked.

"Ask Kagome. She comes from a line for demons called 'dimension skippers'."

Everyone turned to me.

"There are many dimensions all side by side. Most are similar in some way. This dimension has a few demons that some how traveled from my dimension. In my dimension the lands are infested in demons and it is the feudal era." I said.

"How is everyone still alive if demons roam?" Sasori asked.

"The lands are divided into four places; the north kingdom, the south kingdom, the east kingdom, and the west kingdom. Each landed is ruled by one of the four strongest demons alive. They keep their lands in order and try to make the demons live in peace with the humans. But villages are destroyed all the time. Human lords attack demon villages and bandits and rogue demon attack human villages. Each village usually has a miko though, a woman with spiritual powers. They are responsible for keeping the rogue demons at bay."

"The wars between the demon lords have to be something else." Hidan muttered.

"They are. Demons are immortal. We can live forever. We can be killed but it takes a lot to kill us. My friend got a whole arm through his heart and lived. And the wars are something. There is always disagreement between the lords. There is also a lot of hate between Demons and humans. They are not on friendly terms. Most will attack each other on sight."

"Do all demons talk and look human?" Itachi asked.

"There are some demons that resemble animals more then humans and can not talk the human language. Most demons that look like humans are either lucky or in disguise."

"What do you mean disguise?" Sasori asked.

"For example; the lord of the west looks like a tall silver haired man but his true form is a huge dog."

"**So how big and strong are demons?"** Zetsu asked.

"Most of the demon lords are bigger then this base when in their true forms. But some demons are no larger then a flea. Actually a personal friend of mine is a flea demon. He's quite annoying." I grinned. "And strength depends on your type of demon and rank. The demon lords are the strongest and rarest demons. The lord of the west is a silver inu. There are many inu but many are lower rank then silver."

"And what are you?" Itachi asked.

"I'm part spider demon and part dimension skipper demon. I took after my mother the dimension skipper. I have spiritual powers, her looks, and her true form. I only got fire control and miasma control from my father."

"So what-" Hidan started.

"Why don't we go on a field trip?" I asked.

"Field trip?" Pein asked.

"Yes. You come with me to my dimension."

"Oh! Can we go leader?!" Tobi asked clapping.

"I can promise you at least some protection." I said.

Pein thought a moment as everyone looked at him.

"I guess so. Does everyone want to go?"

"Oh! Tobi does!" Tobi yelled jumping up and down.

"I'll go, un." Deidara grinned.

"Us to." Hidan and Kisame chorused.

"I guess I'll come." Sasori said.

"I'll come." Itachi said.

"_Not me."_ Zetsu said.

"Me neither." Kakuzu said.

"Then you two will watch the base." Pein said.

The two both nodded.

"Will we go right now?" Tobi asked.

"Breakfast first." Pein said.

"Go pack while I finish." I said.

Everyone nodded quickly and set off except Zetsu and Kakuzu. By the time the food was ready everyone was once again at the table their bags nearby. They dug into the food and I slipped off. I hurried to my room and dug through my bag. I found a pair of water blue hakamas and an icy blue kimono like top. I pulled them on and let my hair fan out. Then I put my two swords and my axe in my sash. I also strapped my scythe, bow, and quiver on my back. Then I walked back to the kitchen. As I stepped in everyone froze. I just waited for them to move.

"I didn't know you had weapons like those, un." Deidara said.

"Aren't they nice? They are so deadly too." I purred.

They all looked away and continued to eat quickly. When that was done we all walked outside, Pein and me leading towards the well. Everyone talked softly. As they stepped into the clearing everyone stopped as I walked to the well. As I reached it I motioned the others forwards. Tobi immediately skipped to me.

Author's POV:

"Look in the well." Kagome said sweetly.

If it had been anyone else they would have backed away at her to sweet tone but Tobi, being Tobi, looked into the well. They all gaped as she pushed Tobi in. 'That's what he gets for being annoying, un.' Deidara smirked. They all blinked as a violet light glowed from the well. Pein stepped forwards next. Kagome just smiled at him as he jumped into the well. They watched the purple light again.

"Hurry up." Kagome said.

The others slowly walked over. Kagome sighed and grabbed Hidan and Kisame by the front of their cloaks and shoved them down the well. For a minute she thought they might get stuck going in at the same time. Everyone heard them start to complain but they were cut off by the violet light. Next Sasori grabbed Deidara and dragged him in. Itachi looked at the well a moment then stood on the rim. Kagome grinned and hoped up beside him. They jumped down and Itachi felt like he was falling through purple water. As they touched down they both jumped from the well. They looked at the other members who where all looking around at the unfamiliar clearing.

"Welcome to my world." Kagome grinned.

They all pulled out weapons and got ready as a green two headed dragon lumbered into the clearing. They all gaped at it except Kagome who laughed.

"What are you doing here A-un?" She asked.

It let out a soft roar.

"Lady Kagome." Came a voice.

Everyone blinked at the eighteen year old girl who slid off the dragon. She skipped to Kagome.

"Lady Kagome, Sesshomaru sent me and A-un to wait for you and give you this." She said.

The teen handed Kagome an envelope.

"Thank you Rin." Kagome said putting the envelope in her pocket.

"Who are your friends?" She asked looking over the Akatsuki members."

"Just some normal friends." Kagome smirked.

"Oh, okay lady Kagome. I must be going." Rin smiled.

They watched as she walked to the dragon and scrambled onto his saddle. The dragon let out a roar and leapt into the sky. It flew off quickly leaving some curious people.

"Can all demons fly?" Sasori asked.

"No." Kagome yawned.

"I thought you said humans didn't get along with demons and vice versa." Pein said.

"Most don't. Sesshomaru saved that girls life and she has followed him loyally for years. It's kind of ironic. Sesshomaru is infamous for hating humans but he saved that girl. I think only he and Rin know why." Kagome laughed.

"And what about you, un?" Deidara asked.

"I lived with humans for years in disguise."

"That reminds me. You said demons are immortal. So how old are you?" Pein asked.

"I'm still considered a child." Kagome asked.

"How old?" Pein asked.

"Sixty."

They all gaped at her.

"And you're considered a child?' Itachi asked.

"The old lord of the west was about three thousand when he died." Kagome said.

They all blinked.

"What was in the letter?" Tobi asked.

"Oh that. It was a wedding invitation." She squealed.

They starred at her a moment.

"So how to go about this." Kagome mumbled to herself. "Well I need to go see Kaede so follow me."

The Akatsuki members followed her quickly as she set down at trail. They looked around as they walked for five minutes. Then they all sensed people up ahead. They topped a small hill and saw a village spread out. Kagome sighed and set down the hill towards the last hut. They all followed quietly. As they neared an old woman walked from the hut. She had grey-brown hair. She wore a traditional miko outfit and an eye patch.

"Kagome." She greeted.

"Kaede. Tell me are you with them or me?" Kagome asked.

None of the Akatsuki members understood but listened.

"I am not against yea. I have forbidden the others from entering this village but if yea stay they will attack." The woman sighed.

"I understand. I just came to see." Kagome said.

"What would yea have done if I was against yea?" Kaede asked.

"I would have killed you."

Everyone blinked at her. Her eyes had gone cold and her voice dripped with venom.

"Yea would?" Kaede asked.

"I have had enough betrayal." Kagome whispered.

"Yea are a good child. Now I would hurry. If Inuyasha is near he will have picked up yea scent." Kaede said.

"Goodbye." Kagome said spinning around and walking off.

All the members followed her a bit puzzled by the conversation. As they stepped from the village Kagome looked thoughtful. They didn't bother her as they walked. Suddenly Kagome ripped the bow of her back and notched an arrow. She aimed it at the trees. A second later a woman walked from the trees. She wore a kimono, she had black hair in a bun, and she had red eyes. Kagome grinned and put her bow and arrow back.

"What are you here for Kagura?" Kagome asked.

"Naraku sent me." She said opening a fan.

Kagome nodded.

"Are you human, un?" Deidara asked.

"No. I am a wind sorceress." Kagura sniffed.

Kagome smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Did he send you to guard us?"

Kagura sighed and nodded.

"Kanna come out." Kagome said suddenly.

They all looked to the trees as a small white child wearing white, with white hair walked from the trees with two large horses. One was a large white one with fire for a man and tail and the other was a black one with fire-colored mane and tail. A child hoped off the white horses back. He had long purple hair and looked to be about ten. He held a spear way to big for him.

"Hello Hakudoushi." Kagome smiled.

"Hello Kagome." The kid smirked.

"We came to give you a ride." The albino said.

"Who are they?" Hakudoushi asked.

"This is Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, Tobi, and Hidan. And this is Pein, their leader. They are friends of mine." Kagome smiled. "And Akatsuki this is Hakudoushi and Kanna. The horses are Enti and Miro. Enti belongs to Hakudoushi and Miro is mine."

"They are demons?" Pein asked.

"Yes."

"Even the kid?" Itachi asked.

"That kid could probably beat all of you." Kagura sniffed.

They starred at the kid a minute.

"So we are flying?" Kagome asked.

"Yes." Kagura sighed.

"How will we all fly, un?" Deidara asked. "I have my bird but only Sasori and I can ride it, un."

"Hakudoushi will ride Enti, with Pein. Kagura and Kanna can ride on Kagura's feather with Tobi. Kisame and Hidan can ride Miro. Sasori and Deidara can ride Deidara's bird and Itachi can ride on my cloud with me." Kagome said.

Everyone blinked. Kagura sighed and all the Akatsuki members watched as she pulled a feather from her hair, and in a gust of wind it enlarged. Kanna and Kagura jumped on. Kagome pushed Tobi forwards. Both the women watched in surprise as he skipped to them like a child. He scrambled on the feather and sat between the two clapping. They starred at him. Then Enti stepped forwards. Hakudoushi jumped on him and Pein walked over cautiously. He leapt on behind Hakudoushi and steadied himself.

Then Kagome dragged Kisame and Hidan to Miro. She tossed them up as the horse sorted in amusement. Kisame in the front grabbed the horse's mane, and Hidan grabbed Kisame's shoulders. The two had both their weapons strapped on and had to shift them. Then Deidara sighed and dropped a small clay bird. In a poof of smoke it enlarged. Deidara hopped on and Sasori slid on behind him. Then Kagome signalled everyone to get into the air. The bird and feather rose straight up while the horses leapt into the air. Itachi walked to Kagome as she motioned him over. He stepped up beside her. She grabbed his arm and pulled him right against her. Suddenly he looked down and saw a purple-black like cloud form under their feet. It rose into the sky after the others. Unconsciously, Itachi gripped Kagome's arm.


	34. Betrayal Part 1 : Crossover

Kagome's POV:

I was currently on my knees. I kneeled on the soft forest floor. A few tears fell over my creamy skin. I was kneeling in front of the body of Miroku. I held back a scream that threatened to rip from my throat. Inuyasha had betrayed me. They all had. Why? There were a few reasons but none strong enough to make them try and kill me. They had tried to kill me. But I was smart. I was stronger. I was trickier. I had ran and survived.

~~FLASHBACK~~

I had jumped out of the well humming. Why? Because today was the day Inuyasha had promised to announce that he was taking me as his mate. We had kissed and he had asked me on his knees. Finally after two years my dream was coming true. I was now seventeen. I was even more beautiful from when I had first fell in the well. We had killed Naraku four days ago. I stopped humming as I remembered. Kagura and Kanna had turned on their master and had flown off when the battle was done. Koga had died. Kirara had also died, protecting her mistress. I had been the one to end Kohaku's life.

I had found him wounded in the battle. He had smiled at me and told me he had remembered everything. He was dying, even with the shard and he knew it. He asked me to take the shard and tell his sister goodbye. I had taken the shard. His body had turned to dust. Sango had seen and freaked. I had tried to explain but she was furious. She tried to attack me but Miroku pulled her off saying she would cool down. But she hadn't. She had tried to kill me numerous times in the four days I had been in the feudal era. Her intended, Miroku, tried to calm her but to no success.

I sighed slightly and fingered the complete Shikon No Tama around my neck. Shippo had been adopted by a widow Kitsune and was happy. I had left him in her care three days before we killed Naraku. Kikyo had fought with us and left when Naraku was dead. Sesshomaru had also fought with us. As soon as Naraku had died though, he had tried to take the Tetsiaga. Rin his ward had stopped him when a wound he had gotten reopened. They had left quickly on the two headed dragon with Jaken. I took a few steps from the well and sucked in a breath of fresh summer air. I felt giddy. I was going to be Inuyasha's mate.

All other thoughts were pushed aside as those thoughts came back. I blushed. Inuyasha had promised that tonight he would take me as his mate. I had gotten here early though. I hoped Sango had calmed. I skipped off cloaking myself in my miko powers so that no stay demon could sense me. I decided I would go thank the old tree once though. The tree I felt deserved a thank you. It had all began at the tree and now it would end happily there. I smiled brightly. As I got closer to the tree though, I heard noises. I peeked around a corner and my eyes widened in horror. There was Inuyasha. He was just rolling off of Kikyo. He sat up and smiled at her.

"You are awesome Kikyo."

She smiled back.

"What about my incarnation? I heard you were going to ask her to be your mate."

"You know this was part of the plan. I'll have my pleasure with her then she will be our slave. If she doesn't agree I'll slaughter her. I'll also take the jewel and wish for you to live again." He smiled.

He bent down and kissed her deeply. When they broke he started to get on her again.

"But what if she does fight? She could easily kill you. You know she is a fully trained miko with more power then me." Kikyo said sounding genuinely worried.

"I made a deal with the slayer. She will kill her if Kagome fights. She wants revenge for her brother. She'll pretend to be nice. Then if Kagome isn't with me and looks mad she will slaughter the wench on sight." Inuyasha laughed.

I gaped. I heard the sound of smashing. It was my heart. It had been made of glass and Inuyasha had cut the last string holding it up. It shattered as it fell. I ran back to Kaede's as fast as I could. As I got closer I heard the sounds of battle. I sped up. As I came upon Kaede's hut I saw it in ruins. Kaede's body was on the ground, cut in two. Her bow was still in her hand. I screamed. I couldn't help it. Then I felt something coming closer. I ducked just in time to dodge the giant boomerang. It had blood all over it. I heard a laugh.

"So Kagome now do you feel regret for killing my brother, now?" A feminine voice asked.

I looked up at Sango. She had blood on her and a crazed look in her eyes.

"Why did you kill Kaede?!" I screamed.

"I told them I needed their help killing you. They thought I was mad and fought me. I cut down the old woman and sliced the monk. He is bleeding to death somewhere." She laughed.

"You killed your Fiancé!?" I was sobbing now.

Miroku dead? I couldn't grasp the concept. He had been there for most of the journey.

"Yes." Sango cackled.

I grabbed Kaede's bow and ran at Sango. She braced herself. But I ran past her. I needed to find Miroku. I ran as fast as I could. I searched frantically. Always hearing Sango's mad laughter, right behind me. I found Miroku a couple minutes later. He was lying on some grass in a near by field. He was breathing but barely. He had a huge gash on his chest. I could tell it was from Sango's weapon. I picked him up gently. I had become stronger as I trained being a miko and other things over the years. I ran as fast as I could again, which was faster then most humans. When I was a couple kilometres away in a forest I stopped and gently lowered Miroku to the ground. My tears had stopped now. I summoned my miko powers and tried to heal Miroku's wounds. But he was to far gone I felt it.

"Lady Kagome…" Came a ragged voice.

I looked at Miroku.

"Don't leave me." I cried. "You're my only friend you can't leave me alone!"

"I'm sorry… I wish I could have stayed... I really liked our travels together. If only it hadn't ended like this…I wish it could have lasted longer.… It was a pleasure to meet you… Goodbye…"

His smile froze as the light in his eyes vanished. His chest stopped and the world crumbled. My last friend was gone. My only ally left. My brother like companion was gone. I tilted my head to the sky and let my cries out.

~~END OF FLASHBACK~~

All my anguish was building up. I sat there for a while crying, screaming, and letting it all out. Finally I calmed. I had to bury him. I slowly stood. We were in a beautiful clearing. It was the perfect place; pure. I looked at the body of the monk once more and got to work.

Sesshomaru's POV:

I had heard that two people had entered the western lands without permission. My informant had informed me they both had large spiritual powers. I was walking towards their current position. The sky was cloudy and grey. It was showering slightly as if sad. I was getting close to the forest the intruders were in. I stepped into the forest and sped up. I walked for a couple minutes before I came upon a clearing. My eyes widened as I saw my brothers miko, Kagome sitting on the ground. She was wet from the rain but I could still make out the tears. She was in front of a fresh grave. It had a pile of flowers on it and a small head stone. Her hands were covered in dirt and her fingers were bleeding. She had blood staining her clothes. The grave stone seemed to be engraved with her miko powers. My eyes widened as I read it.

'Here lies Miroku. A monk. He lived happily but was killed young. He was betrayed by his friends. His last real friend wishes him as safe journey to the next world.'

"Miko what are you doing on my lands?" I asked.

The miko looked at me. Her eyes held such a deep sadness that I, the cold lord of the west, Sesshomaru, felt like wrapping my arms around her and comforting her. She wasn't sobbing. She just had a few tears sliding down her face.

"I'm sorry. I'll leave. I hope you don't mind that I buried Miroku here."

She said it so quietly I almost didn't hear it. I strode over to her and crouched down by her. I took her hands in mine and examined them. They were covered in dirt, the nails torn and bleeding. She didn't pull away or say anything. I realized she had dug the whole grave by hand. I looked up into her eyes.

"What happened?" I asked softly.

"Inuyasha asked me to be his mate. He said he would take me as his mate tonight. I came back early and found him rutting with Kikyo. They had been planning to betray me and make me their slave or kill me. He made a deal with Sango. She was to kill me if I wasn't with Inuyasha. I was broken. I ran back to the village. I found Kaede cut in half. Sango tried to kill me. She had attacked her fiancé, the monk. I did the only thing I could. I grabbed Miroku and ran. He died. I buried him."

I felt anger boil me. That was low for even Inuyasha and Kikyo. Inuyasha had honour before this too. Now he was no better then Naraku. He had also dishonoured his family, which sadly I was part of.

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

"Kill them all." She said with venom that even surprised me.

"How?" I asked.

"I have my miko powers."

"No weapons?"

"Only the bow."

"Would you not like to kill them up close with a weapon instead of far away with your miko powers?"

She blinked at me.

"I'll train you if you wish." I said.

She got a light in her eyes.

"But what do you want in return?" She asked suspiciously.

"Tetsusaiga."

She smirked.

"Deal."

We both stood. With one glance at the grave we took off quickly.

ONE YEAR LATER

Kagome's POV:

I strode purposely down the road. A woman walked quickly beside me. I had a large black scythe on my shoulder. The villagers of the small village looked up. They looked tired and broken. They quickly looked away though. I frowned. Inuyasha, Kikyo, and Sango seemed to have sucked the village of its spirit. I strode to the last hut. It was actually the size of twelve large huts combined. It seemed since last time I had been here they had enlarged it. I strode in the door not even bothering to knock. The woman waited outside for me.

I looked around. There were three rooms. The one we were in and two separate ones. I pinched my lips tight. It was a rich looking house while the village looked poor. Suddenly one of the doors to the separate rooms opened. Sango walked out while finishing getting dressed. She looked a bit dishevelled. Inuyasha walked out a second later also pulling his clothes on. I made a disgusted face. So Kikyo hadn't been enough for him, so he had to fuck Sango. Sango didn't look angry though, she looked pleased. The two blinked at me. Then they both smirked.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Kagome, my old wench." Inuyasha sneered.

"I am not your old wench. I am your death."

I shot forwards with speed normal humans couldn't match. Sango's eyes widened, in surprise, as I sliced her with my scythe. She fell to the ground. She cried out in pain.

"That was for Miroku." I whispered.

She looked up at me frightened. I swung my scythe, cutting her head off. I turned to Inuyasha. He had a surprised look on his face.

"Shocked Inuyasha? I have gotten better. You have your brother to thank." I smirked.

Suddenly the front mat swung open and Kikyo ran in. She looked at Sango with and smirk then ran to Inuyasha.

"Sorry I'm late Inu-baby." She cooed snuggling up to him.

He smiled down at her.

"No worries sweet." He said kissing her on the nose.

I felt like throwing up. The personalities didn't suit the two. They scowled at my look.

"Well Kikyo, I'm glad you are back, I really wanted to see you." I purred.

Inuyasha pulled his sword out and it transformed as I ran at him, my scythe glinting in the light. I spun and side stepped just before I reached him. I sliced Kikyo in two. He gave one cry before his head was also lopped off. I smiled and waved my scythe getting the blood off. They had been so easy to kill for how much trouble they had caused. I crouched by the bodies, and took the Tetsusaiga and the rosary from Inuyasha. I owed the sword to Sesshomaru and the rosary might be useful. I also walked to Sango's body. I looked down at it with fury.

"I hope you rot in the deepest pit of hell, for betraying me, slaughtering Kaede, and finally for killing Miroku."

I looked up. Kikyo's dead body had already dissolved. Inuyasha's bright silver hair was already soaked in blood. I laughed. Then I walked out the door. The woman who had come with me glanced at me in silence. The villagers were already gathering. They had heard the cries. One stepped forwards.

"Lady Kagome?" He asked hesitantly.

I nodded. They all smiled.

"You freed us!" They cried.

They all cheered and looked like their burden had been lifted. Many sunk to their knees.

"I'm so sorry it took so long. I must be leaving now, but this is Milo. She will be your miko."

They all bowed and said thanks. Then I handed Milo a package I had made that contained sweets and some other small goodbye items. She looked up at me.

"Please have this delivered to the Kitsune, Shippo, and his new adoptive mother. They live past the next village in the closest cave."

She nodded. I smiled and took off running. As planned I met Sesshomaru by the old well. I had destroyed the barrier surrounding Tetsiaga on the way. I handed it to him and he smirked.

"The stronger sword for the stronger, wiser brother." I said

"I wish you to know you were the best student I ever taught. You learned everything in a snap and I could have let you leave sooner but I decided to teach you everything."

"That means a lot coming from you Sesshomaru." I said smiling softly.

He smiled softly. As we had trained we had become close friends. He was like a brother. I would miss him. Shippo, Kirara, Koga, Miroku, and he were the ones I would miss.

"Promise me to put flowers on Miroku's grave and look after the grave, for me."

"I promise."

"If Shippo ever needs training or help, you will help won't you?" I asked.

"I will, I promise."

"Take care of Rin."

"Of course I will."

"Goodbye Sesshomaru, my friend, my sensei, my brother, my lord."

"Goodbye Kagome, my friend, my student, my sister, my vassal."

With that I stepped to the edge of the well we looked at each other and our eyes met. I stepped into the well and fell into the blue light.

.--.

I touched down softly and looked up. I saw a roof. It was the well house roof. I jumped from the well easily. I opened the door slowly and was met by a blast of autumn wind. I sprinted across the yard and walked into the house. Now I was hit by warm air and cooking smells. I set my scythe by the door and walked to the kitchen. My grandpa, Souta, and my mom were sitting at the table having breakfast and talking. As soon as I stepped in, silence fell. Finally my mother jumped up and hugged me, crying.

"We were so worried about you when you didn't come back."

"I know." I whispered.

I hugged her back and then gave the other two hugs. Finally I sat down and started eating with them.

"So when am I going to have cute dog eared grandkids?" My mother asked.

My throat seized up and I set my food down slowly. She had known Inuyasha had proposed to me. They all saw my mood and frowned.

"What is it sis?" Souta asked.

"Inuyasha betrayed me, Sango tried to kill me, Miroku and Kaede died, and Sesshomaru took me under his wing to train me."

They gasped. I told them the whole story. They got grim looks. I left out the part about me killing them though. They tried to comfort me. I sighed.

"Mom. I can't stay here."

She gave me a look of understanding.

"I know. You would never fit back in this life again, not after the past three years in the past." She said sadly.

"I'm going to jump back in the well. When I came back out I felt it change. I think it will take me to another dimension."

She gaped at me. Then she set her food down too. Now everyone watched.

"Dear, do you remember how I said your father disappeared?"

I nodded. She looked me in the eye.

"Did you think it odd that I wasn't surprised about you falling in the well the first time?"

I frowned. I had thought it odd. My grandpa and Souta had thought I was mental but my mom had taken it calmly.

"Well when your father was here and we had had you he had went to clean the well house one day. He had disappeared. I was distraught. I stayed by the well house where he had last been for days. A couple days later he appeared. He came in a red glow from the well. He climbed out and wrapped me in his arms, saying something about another world with ninja. Then he was pulled back in by something. He yelled that he would try to come back to me. He never came back through." She said.

We all gaped.

"You mean my father also used to travel through the well?" I asked quietly.

She nodded.

"If he left before I was born then…" Souta started.

Mom smiled softly.

"I'm sorry Souta, but you're adopted."

Souta shrugged and I spoke up.

"So if I jump back I may be able to find dad?' I asked.

She nodded.

"He told me the world was full of ninja and that he had the ability. He had been taken in by a village and they had started to train him. He was happy. He liked it but he was torn between me and that world. He tried to stay with me but the world wouldn't let him go." She said softly.

I took a deep breathe. I remembered some pieces of memory from when I was younger. My mother had always talked about ninja too me. She had even had me taken to a trainer. He had taught me how to do many different martial arts, and he had taught me how to throw knives.

"When I was younger you trained me." I said in realization.

She nodded.

"You now know almost all different kinds of hand to hand combats, and you can throw a knife perfectly. Then you learned how to use all weapons from this Sesshomaru, and you are trained in miko powers." She said smiling. "You are all grown up."

She stood and hugged me again. Suddenly I felt something calling me. I stood up and walked to the door in a daze. I wanted to stop but I had no control over my body. My family followed. I grabbed my scythe and walked to the well. The whole room was lit with red. It was beckoning.

"It is calling to you. When your father also tried to stay he was called in the same way. If you resist it grabs you." My mother said.

"So I must go?" I asked with a tinge of sadness.

She nodded. I saw tears in all their eyes. I gave them large hugs.

"Wait one minute." My mother said suddenly running out the door.

She came back a minute later with a small black backpack.

"Give this to your father if you find him." She said.

I nodded. Then she handed me a photo. It was of a man with orange hair and a soft face. He had a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

"This is dad?" I asked.

She smiled.

"Tell him I love him, I always have. And tell him I forgive him if he has moved on."

Her tears started to flow. The well suddenly lit up more.

"Give me a minute." I said.

I felt slightly foolish talking to it. Suddenly red whips shot out and wrapped around me. I gasped as they started to drag me. The well wouldn't wait.

"I love you all! Even if I can never come back I love you!" I screamed to them as I was pulled down.

I saw Souta give me a watery smile and a thumbs-up sign. My grandfather gave me a kind of salute and a smile. My mother was sobbing and waving. They disappeared as I fell over the rim. I smiled once as I was dragged into the well. I was off on another adventure.

Deidara's POV:

I was walking through the forest. It was a nice day. The birds were out and the sun shone. My black cloak with red clouds wiped around me as the breeze played with it. My blonde hair also blew around my face. I stretched. It was about noon, and I was about half a kilometre from the main base of Akatsuki. I was near the old well. Leader had forbidden us to destroy it. We all wondered why but didn't really care. I leaned against an old tree and yawned. Everyone was relaxing today. No one had missions. But since everyone was together it was a bit chaotic.

Sasori had chased me out of the house saying I was being annoying. I growled. Tobi had been the annoying one. Suddenly I heard noise. I blinked and looked up as a girl jumped out of the well. She had raven black hair to her wait and she wore baggy black pants and a tight black shirt. She had soft brown eyes and had a black back pack on. She also held a giant scythe like Hidan's in her hand. She was absolutely stunning. Then I froze. What was she doing here? Was she an enemy? She smiled at me and I felt more relaxed. He smile seemed to say don't-worry-just-relax.

"What do you want, un?" I asked.

She smiled again. She pulled a picture from her pocket.

"Do you know this man? He would be at least fifteen years older then this picture." She said.

I gaped at the picture. It was a picture of Leader. I was sure of it. He had spiky orange hair just like leader. He just didn't have as many piercings. I closed my mouth. The girl was still waiting. Leader would want to know about this.

"I might. Come with me, un."

The girl scowled.

"You could turn on me in an instant. How do I know I can trust you?"

I sighed.

"If you want to see that man, follow me, un."

She slowly followed me. I looked at her closely. She didn't look like to much of a threat and I could always deal with her if she turned out to be one. The only thing that made me wary was the scythe. I quickened my pace and she kept up. Soon we reached the large cave. The main base was in a cave. If you went to the back of the cave there was a special door with a lock. No one could see the door. The only thing you saw was a small circle indent at the back. It fitted the Akatsuki rings perfectly. You had to put them in and the secret door would open. No other ring would work since Akatsuki rings were special somehow. I popped my ring in and the door slide open. The woman followed closely. Luckily we didn't run into any other members as we walked through the large hall. When we reached leader's door I knocked.

Kagome's POV:

The blonde dude, at least I think it was a dude, knocked on a large door. We waited a second.

"Come in." A voice said.

My eyes widened slightly. The voice was familiar. Hope was building up in me. The blonde opened the door and we both walked in. There was a man sitting at a large desk in front of some papers. His back was to us. He had bright orange hair. The hope in me spiked. I was breathing harder a little.

"What is it Deidara?" The man asked with out turning to us.

"I brought someone to see you. She was in the old well. She was asking for someone like you, un." The blonde said.

The orange haired man stiffened.

"The old well?" He asked.

"Yes, un."

"Okay Deidara leave us." He said still not looking at us.

The blonde Deidara looked at me and the man him once then headed for the door.

"Don't tell the others." The man said just as Deidara left.

"Yes, un." He said.

He shut the door, leaving the two of us alone. Slowly the man turned to me. I blinked. He had a whole bunch of piercings otherwise he looked exactly like my father, with a little more age.

"Higurashi Takashi?" I asked.

His eye widened.

"Kagome?" He asked.

I smiled brightly. He started to shake as he stood. I ran at him. I swept him in a hug. He hugged me back.

"The last time I saw you, you were two, you grew so much." He laughed.

"It is so good to see you." I said.

"So the well pulled you through too?" He asked softly.

"Yes. But I came because I wanted to too."

We let go and he sat on the bed motioning me to do the same.

"Tell me what has been happening these past years." He said softly.

I broke into a long story about our life up until my fifteenth birthday. The whole time dad looked in that bag mom had sent him. It had some baked goods, and photos. Then I slowly stopped. When I did he looked at me.

"You are eighteen right?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Then you left out three years of your story." He said.

I pinched my lips together.

"On my fifteenth birthday I was pulled through the well."

His eyes widened.

"Then why haven't I seen you before?" He asked.

"Because I was pulled into the past not another world."

His eyes widened.

"I was pulled to about five hundred years when demons roamed and killed. I traveled with a group of people and collected a jewel called the Shikon no Tama. I am a miko."

I broke into the rest of the story. His eyes widened until I thought his eyes would fall out. I had tears in my eyes when I explained that my friends had been killed or betrayed me. When I got to the part where I killed my old friends he gaped.

"My soft, pure Kagome is a murderer?" He asked quietly.

I growled and stood up.

"Yes I murdered them! I sliced their heads off and I cursed them to hell!" I yelled.

My miko powers were being released unconsciously. My hair started to whip around and my clothes flapped as I glowed a soft pink.

"And I don't give a damn!" I finished.

He looked up at me softly.

"Don't worry Kagome. I was just surprised I wasn't accusing you of anything."

I slowly calmed and my powers withdrew. I now realized I also still had my miko powers. I slowly took deep breathes and sat down. Dad looked into my eyes.

"I'm sorry you went through so much pain." He said kindly.

I gave him a crooked smile.

"It made me stronger. And I have done nothing I regret except maybe not killing the three sooner."

He nodded. Then he grinned.

"Now to tell you about me… When I first arrived here I was accepted into a ninja village. After a couple years I got annoyed thought. I abandoned them and started the criminal organization Akatsuki. I am the leader. My new name is Pein. I gathered all the strongest criminals and am now the most feared organization in the ninja world."

I grinned.

"You did well." I said.

"You did too, becoming the most powerful miko, and killing demons, humans, and half demons." He grinned.

Then he stood up.

"So do you want to join me?" He asked.

I smirked.

"Yes." I said.

"Then let's go meet the family." He said.

I smirked and shouldered my scythe before I followed him out the door. He pulled me into a large room. It had a large table.

"Can you hide yourself until I say to come out?" He asked.

"Yes, I learned this nifty trick. I use my miko powers to put a barrier around myself. It blocks me from scent and sight." I grinned.

I wrapped the barrier around me and disappeared. He grinned and cleared his throat before taking a deep breath.

"EVERYONE GET YOUR LAZY ASSES IN HERE NOW!" He yelled.

I smiled. He had a good yelling voice. He sat down at the head of the table and we waited. Three seconds later the blonde Deidara came running in. He sat down. He was followed by a red headed guy, who looked bored and angelic. Then a raven haired boy with an orange swirl mask skipped in along with a guy who looked like he had been hacked apart and sewn up again. Then a man with slicked back silver hair and violet eyes and an open cloak showing a bare chest and pendent walked in. Then suddenly a man that was half white, and half black, and that looked to be being eaten by a Venus fly trap, popped in. A blue haired woman walked in. She had a paper flower in her hair. Finally a shark looking man and a handsome man with long black hair and red eyes walked in. They all sat and waited looking at Pein. He smiled at all of them.

"I wish to tell you we are getting a new member."

"What?!" They all yelled except the blue haired woman, the red eyed man, and the red head.

"Who?" The red head asked.

"My daughter."

They all gaped, except the red eyed man.

"You have a daughter?" The shark man finally asked.

"Yes."

"Is she strong?" The stitched up guy asked.

"Yes."

"Would she be the girl I saw this morning, un?" The blonde Deidara asked.

"You already met her?" They all asked the blonde.

I smiled and walked over to the end of the table. I sat by the man who had long black hair and red eyes. I set my scythe at my feet. I heard a snort come from the silver haired man.

"How old is she?" he asked.

"Eighteen." Pein said.

"I bet she hasn't even killed one person." He snorted.

"She has decapitated three people who used to be her best friends along with killing countless others."

Silence fell on everyone. I took this time to lift my barrier. They were all looking at Pein and didn't notice, except for the black haired man beside me. He tensed and turned slowly towards me. I crossed my legs and clasped my hands silently on the table. I grinned at the red eyed man. He squinted at me.

"So when is she coming?" The shark asked.

"She is already here, un." Deidara said.

Pein nodded. His eyes flickered over me.

"Yes she is in this room to; I'm surprised you didn't notice sooner."

Everyone tensed and turned to me. I smiled at them. They looked at me in absolute silence for a minute.

"You look weak." The shark man.

I scowled. Then I growled fiercely. He flinched.

"Don't test me fish boy."

"Be careful. Kagome here knows how to use any weapons, and she has some other abilities." Pein said softly.

I schooled my face to emptiness. They all studied me silently.

"So why didn't we meet her before?" The plant man asked.

"Oh you might say she had some… transportation trouble getting here." Pein said.

He chuckled and I grinned widely. Everyone else looked confused.

"So whose partner is she?" The cut up guy asked.

"I will decide later. For now I want all of you guys to train her about ninjas."

They gaped.

"You mean she doesn't know anything about ninja's?" The red head asked.

"No, but I know plenty else." I said coldly.

The silver haired man snickered.

"Like how to do your hair?' he asked. "You're just a weak female."

I felt the anger boil in me. I stood up, silently snarling. The blue haired woman was also scowling at the man. My miko powers were growing. I was sure others in the room could feel them even though they were human. They could most likely feel just raw power swirling around me.

"The last person who said that had his head cut off." I growled.

"As if you could cut my head off." He snorted.

"Try me." I said.

"Gladly."

He stood up and got in a fighting position.

"Outside please." Pein said.

The silver haired man smirked. Everyone stood and quickly headed outside. Pein and I left last.

"The blonde is Deidara, the red head is his partner Sasori, the swirl masked one is Tobi, the plant is his partner Zetsu, The cut up one is Kakuzu, his partner is Hidan the one you are fighting. The blue haired woman is Konan, she's my partner, and the shark is Kisame. His partner is Itachi. Watch out for Itachi. He is the most dangerous and unpredictable."

I nodded. As we walked into the sun outside the others stepped back and the man Hidan stepped forwards. I noticed he had a scythe in his hand. 'Interesting.' I thought looking at the weapon. I had my own scythe in my hand. I stepped forwards. Everyone just noticed my scythe. Hidan blinked.

"You have a scythe too?" He asked.

I grinned and took a position. He slowly did the same.

"Begin!" Pein said.

I lunged swiping with my scythe. These were ninja and I knew their speed almost matched demons, but mine also did. I was actually almost faster then Sesshomaru. It seemed that my miko powers had strengthened my body and gave me other such advantages. He just had time to lift his scythe in defence. My blade still sliced him a bit. His eyes widened.

"That was fast, un. Faster then Itachi, un." I heard Deidara whisper.

Hidan glanced up for one second and I lashed out with my foot. I also focused my miko powers in that foot strengthening my attack. The man flew back a good fifty feet, crashing into a tree. The tree shook violently. The man slumped to the ground only to hop up growling. He lunged at me and I spun quickly, my scythe a blur. Two seconds later his head was flying off. It hit the ground and he let out a string of curses. I smirked. I had felt he was different, now I knew he was some kind of immortal dude. I turned to look at the others. They were watching with wide eyes.

"You did that with no ninja techniques and it wasn't taijutsu you used." The shark said in shock.

I nodded but didn't understand what taijutsu was. Then I tipped my head and looked at the plant man.

"Are you a youkai?" I asked.

They all frowned. I saw Hidan's body sit up from the corner of my eye. It grabbed his head and slowly stood up before focusing on our conversation.

"A what?" He asked.

"A youkai. A demon."

They all blinked. Then they all grinned.

"Very funny joke." Zetsu says scowling.

I blinked. Pein sighed.

"I'm not joking."

"Demons don't exsist. Except for the few sealed in humans." Itachi said calmly.

I gaped. Panic started to rise in me. I took a deep breathe to calm down but it didn't work.

"You mean they seal demons in human?! Are they fucking mad!? You can't do that! Do you know what that does to the human soul?!" I screamed.

I was on the edge of total panic. I knew first hand what sealing a demon into a human body did. And I was a miko. I knew there had to be balance along with the knowledge that if a demon was put in a human he would be hated by both humans and demons. They were all looking at me closely now.

"Kagome comes from really, really far away." Pein started.

Everyone turned to him.

"She came from a land that there were demons everywhere." He said.

There eyes widened. They all looked at me. I was breathing deeply and looking around.

"Where are these humans with demons in them?" I asked quickly.

"Why do you need to see them?" Hidan asked.

"What happens to the human soul when a demon is sealed in their bodies?" Itachi interrupted.

"The demon souls eats away at the human soul, then takes over the body, merging so that it absorbs the humans powers and can take a human appearance. The main problem is when they do this their power is double along with what power they get from the human. They can transform when ever they want to. But if the merging doesn't work they become blood thirsty killing machines that don't stop until dead, they feel no emotions or pain; but with their power they usually kill almost everyone first."

All their eyes widened.

"We have been taking the demons from the human bodies for a while now." Pein said.

"Really?" I asked calming slightly.

"Yes. We have taken most out, only one left. His name is Uzumaki Naruto. He is about your age and lives in Kohona. He has the nine tailed fox in him." Zetsu said.

I nodded.

"May I go see him?" I asked.

They all blinked.

"… I guess so… but wait a while." Pein said.

I nodded. Then I sighed. I looked up at the sky. It was still about one or so.

"Let's go in. I'll get one of these guys to show you to your room." Pein said.

I nodded and we all filed back in. When we stepped back inside, Pein turned to all of us. He looked over all the guys, his eyes resting on Tobi.

"Tobi show her a room." He said.

"Okay! Tobi will show her! Tobi is a good boy!"

I raised an eyebrow. He seemed to be my age but sounded like a six year old. I followed him as he skipped down the hall. He showed me a room that was completely red. I threw my bag onto the bed and followed the boy back out the door. He showed me all the other's rooms, a library, the kitchen, and finally the living room. Sasori, Itachi, Deidara, Kisame, Kakuzu, and Hidan were all scattered in the large living room. Hidan had his head stitched back on.

Zetsu, Konan, and Pein weren't in sight. I stood in the door way as Tobi skipped in. I took a deep breathe and released some of my miko powers. They were invisible to the human eye. They probed each person. They told me that Sasori was a puppet master and strong. Deidara was a bombs specialist, and he had mouths on his hand. Kisame was strong and was a sword wielder. Hidan was immortal and strong. Kakuzu had small medic abilities and was strong too.

And finally Itachi; He had many powers and was the strongest. He had some kind of power that focused with his eyes. I could also tell he had bad vision. And it wasn't natural vision loss. It was caused by the power in his eyes. Suddenly a small item came flying at me. I reacted immediately. I grabbed a hidden dagger and threw it at the item. I saw that it was a small clay bird just before it blew up. I blinked. Everyone was watching me.

"Whoa! That was fast, un." Deidara said.

"Who trained you?' Sasori asked.

"A demon lord." I said.

They blinked. Then they nodded slowly but still looked confused. Sasori returned to the book he was reading. Deidara grinned at me and made more birds throwing them at me. I retrieved my daggers and glided in and out of the small birds as they exploded. I silently and quickly made for my destination while the birds flew at me. I dodged the last ones and pulled out ten small daggers. I whipped them at the blonde terrorist and pinned him to the wall as I stopped in front of Itachi.

Itachi's POV:

I looked up from my small red book as I sensed the woman in front of me. I blinked as I saw smoke from the bombs and Deidara pinned to the wall. I had heard but I hadn't looked. The woman tilted her head and looked into my eyes. Her eyes showed calmness and peace. She felt absolutely pure. She blinked slowly. Then she lifted her hand. I wondered what she was doing. She grabbed my chin in one hand. I felt my anger start to boil. This woman had touched me with out permission. I blinked trying to suppress the anger.

I saw the others watching now. Sasori was watching closely. Deidara was watching with wide eyes and he was still. His eyes told Kagome to back away slowly. Hidan was stock still too. Kakuzu blinked and slowly turned to us before freezing. Tobi just stood there. I couldn't see his face. Kisame's eyes looked shocked and he almost started for us. I cast him a glare that said stop, and he stopped, standing perfectly still. They all had a bit of fear in their eyes and some gulped loudly. Kagome sent them a glance then looked back at me.

"Do your eyes hurt you all the time?" She asked.

Her question caught me off guard. I blinked then schooled myself.

"What do you know about my eyes woman?" I asked.

"I know they hurt you. Your vision is also getting worse, you will soon be blind. It has something to do with the power you have. It is all too taxing on your eyes." She said calmly.

All the others gaped at her words.

"Itachi is going blind?" Kisame asked quietly.

The woman nodded.

"Do you want me to heal them?" She asked.

I blinked. Had she just offered to heal my eyes? I slowly nodded.

"I need you to shut down the power focused in your eyes then."

I slowly turned my sharingan off. My vision got drastically worse. Suddenly I felt a pure and peaceful feeling flow into me. It was cool and felt powerful. Suddenly my vision started to improve. I almost gaped. Soon I could see everything perfectly. I starred down at the woman in front of me. She was a couple inches shorter then me and very beautiful. Her long ebony hair was soft and silky. Her skin was flawless and creamy, her eyes were soft brown and her lips looked ready to be kissed. She smiled at me. Her body was perfect too, filling out in all the right places.

"I've never seen eyes like yours. They're very beautiful."

I blinked at her comment. No one had ever complemented me on my looks, at least not to my face without wanting something in return. Fan-girls had gushed over me complementing me and relatives but none had complimented me seriously like her, like they meant every single word, but didn't mean really anything by it. It sounded innocent coming from her. She turned and walked to Deidara. She grabbed her daggers letting him drop, then walked from the room. The others looked shocked that she had just commented me. They stood in the same positions for about five minutes. Then they slowly returned to what they had been doing but they were a bit fidgety. After a minute I walked off to find the woman. I found her in the library. She was pulling a book from a shelf. She smiled at me and sat in a chair. I walked up to her and looked down at her.

"What was your name again?" I asked.

"Kagome." She said.

"Well Kagome, I will start your ninja lessons now."

She blinked. Then she smiled brilliantly. I felt a drop of melted ice fall from my heart.

.--.

For four hours I told her all about ninja's. She learned very quickly. Surprisingly she knew what chakra was. She didn't call it chakra though she just called it energy. But it still made the lessons easier. I also told her a quick history and some important information. After the four hours I stood up.

"I will continue the lessons tomorrow. Meet her at nine in the morning."

She nodded and I walked for the door. Before I even reached it though, Pein popped in. He smiled.

"Kagome, I know you can cook so will you make dinner?"

I had been planning to go get some but decided to wait now. Kagome looked up at us. Slowly she nodded. She stood and we all walked to the kitchen. Kagome started to cook and Pein and I sat at the table.

"So Kagome, tell me about Inuyasha." Pein said.

I blinked wondering who Inuyasha was. Kagome had frozen at his name.

"Well he had long silver hair, and the cutest dog ears. He had amber eyes. He had a temper but could be kind sometimes. I really did love him." She said sadly.

"Inuyasha was your husband?" I asked.

She nodded slowly.

"He was going to be my husband but…."

There was silence.

"You killed him." I said.

"Yes, he was one of the ones I killed. But before that I was going to be his wife. Then I found him with his old girlfriend. They were planning to steal the Shikon no tama and kill me."

"The what?' I asked.

She stopped mixing and pulled a necklace off. She turned to us. In her one hand she had a plain chain with a small pink jewel on it. My eye was captured by it. It looked ordinary but I felt power in it and it was like it was calling me.

"This is the Shikon no tama that gives one wish to anyone."

My eyes widened.

"If the wish is selfish though the jewel will be tainted and stay on earth. If the wish is selfless then it will disappear. I am the only person who can keep it pure."

I looked at it.

"May I see it?" Pein asked.

Kagome tossed it to him. He caught hit. In Kagome's hand it had been a bright pink. Now it was turning a purple not too dark but light.

"If the person touching isn't pure it becomes tainted. When Naraku had it, it was completely black. He was pure evil not a trace of good in him. Dad, you are more evil then you aren't pure."

Pein grinned.

"How are you pure then? You killed three friends." I said.

"I will never be evil as long as I keep my miko powers. If they ever turn black then I will become a black miko and I will be evil."

I blinked. She was a miko? Those had died out hundreds of years ago. Only priests were left and they were thin and scattered. She took the jewel from Pein and it immediately turned pink again. Then she tossed it to me. I caught it easily. It dulled but stayed pink with only the tiniest tinge of purple, almost unnoticeable. They gaped at me.

"You're so pure it doesn't get too tainted at your touch." Kagome said in wonder.

Suddenly Pein burst into laughter.

"Him Pure?! He killed his entire family, his clan." Pein laughed.

"Just because people kill does not make them impure." Kagome said.

Pein sighed and stopped laughing but chuckles still escaped every once in a while. Kagome quickly turned to her cooking as something boiled over. I lifted the jewel to the light. It looked beautiful. The light danced off it. I blinked as I looked at it. I squinted and looked closer. I could swear I saw something moving in the jewel. Suddenly Kagome was beside me. She grabbed my shoulder tightly.

"The jewel is doing something." She whispered.

Suddenly the whole room was lit with a flash of pink. I blinked and looked around. I gaped. We weren't in the room anymore. We were in a grassy field. Kagome still gripped my shoulder. Pein was no where in sight. I saw a teen age girl running towards us. She looked like Kagome but a few years younger. She wore a school uniform. She was running as fast as she could. As she passed us we ran beside her, just ghosts.

"I remember this. This is one of my memories." Kagome said.

I looked over at the real her.

"The jewel is showing you my memories."

I started to watch again. Suddenly a giant centipede with a human top came over the hill. My eyes widened.

"That is the demon mistress centipede."

The old Kagome stumbled into a clearing. There was a large tree. I blinked. There was a man tied in the roots. He had silver hair and white ears. He wore a red outfit. 'Inuyasha.' I thought. The old Kagome gaped at him and he started to talk. Suddenly the centipede came in. She was yelling something.

"Give me the jewel petty mortal!" She screeched.

Villagers came running in. I blinked. They all looked like people from the feudal era.

"What…" I started.

"This is five hundred years in the past. I'll explain later." The real Kagome said quickly.

She was watching closely with a tinge of hate as she looked at the silver haired man. The centipede lunged at the old Kagome. Its teeth sunk into Kagome's side. The Kagome gasped. She was thrown fifty feet into the air, her blood trailing behind. I winced. That would have been very painful. Suddenly from the wound came the bright pink Shikon No Tama. The centipede laughed and Inuyasha cursed. Kagome hit the ground hard and almost blacked out. Suddenly the centipede wrapped her coils around the tree, Kagome, and Inuyasha, squeezing them to death.

Kagome pulled the arrow I now noticed from Inuyasha. In a minute he had sliced the demon with his bare claws like it was a pest. I gaped. He had done that by hand. He was a half demon too. He then started for Kagome. He chased her, trying to kill her. She 'sat' him. We watched all her memories. Well all the most important parts. As she met the perverted monk Miroku, the deadly woman slayer Sango, the cute demons Shippo and Kirara, the flea Myoga, the smith Totosi, the wolf Koga, the enemy Kagura, Kanna, Naraku, and others, the girl Rin, the toad Jaken, the imp A-un, and the demon Lord Sesshomaru.

We went through three years of her adventures. Then we reached the betrayal. I watched as they turned on Kagome. I saw as the lord Sesshomaru had taken her by the hand and took her to his castle training her in the sword, scythe, knife, dagger, axe, whip, staff, spear, and other such weapons. I was impressed. When we came to the end everything flashed pink again and we were in the kitchen. Pein blinked at us.

"Something happen?" He asked.

"How long did we stand here?" I asked.

He blinked.

"A minute."

It had felt like a couple hours as we had flashed through the most important parts of her journey. We nodded. Kagome returned to cooking. First though she looped the necklace back on. I watched her. It felt like I had known her for years. I didn't but it felt like it. My respect for her had risen very high. I respected her more then I had ever respected anyone else. She had suffered more, faced more, and lived through more in the past three years then the other had in all their lives. The others slowly walked in and we all dug into the food. Everyone seemed overjoyed at actually having someone cook. When dinner was finished they all walked off. Kagome cleaned up quickly and said goodnight. Then she headed for her own room. I stood up and also headed to mine.

.--.

I woke at an early time and sat up. I blinked the sleep away and looked around slightly surprised. I would have to get used to seeing everything so clearly again. I had a quick shower and pulled on some black cargo pants and a black t-shirt. I slipped out of my room and headed for the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen, but stopped and blinked. I looked at Kagome who was sitting at the table drinking some tea and reading a book. She smiled up at me. Every time I saw that smile I thought she didn't belong here, that she was to kind and pure. But I quickly dismissed that thought and remembered how deadly she had looked fighting Hidan. She belonged here. She just didn't show it sometimes.

"I didn't expect you up this early." I said.

She blinked and looked at the clock.

"Why not? It's half an hour after dawn."

"Don't women sleep in?" I asked.

"I don't. You saw that I get up with the sun while we shot through my memories."

I remembered seeing her get up every time at sunrise. I shrugged and headed for the counter. Kagome beat me there though.

"I'll get some tea for you."

I nodded slowly and sat down. She made me tea in a flash then started to cook. I smiled slightly. It would be nice having her here. In ten minutes I had a plate of toast, bacon, and eggs in front of me. She also had some toast in front of her. We ate in silence; no noise was heard at all. Suddenly we heard a loud explosion followed by a long and colourful string of words. Then there was yelling. Five minutes later Kisame walked in.

"Must be eight o'clock." I said.

Kagome blinked and Kisame groaned. Kagome was up in a flash and pouring some coffee I had seen her making. She handed it to the shark man before he even knew she had got up. He whistled once and downed the coffee.

"Get used to it girl. It happens every morning. Tobi gets up, wakes Deidara, Deidara throws a bomb, waking Sasori up who throws something at the wall yelling at Deidara to keep it down, waking up Kakuzu and Hidan up, making Hidan curse, causing Leader and I to run and tell them to shut up, effectively waking everyone else up." Kisame said.

"That happens every morning?" Kagome asked.

"Yes." I said. "If Tobi would sleep in once it wouldn't though or if Deidara stopped throwing bombs."

Kagome shrugged jumping up. She immediately started on breakfast. In ten minutes everyone had dragged themselves into the room. They had a cup of coffee in their hands before they made it a couple of steps. As soon as the last person sat down there was food on the table.

"You're good. Coffee and breakfast waiting for us as we walk in. I knew I loved you." Pein sighed in content.

Everyone else made noises in agreement. For the rest of the day I trained Kagome. First we did lessons like the day before then we sparred. Then Kagome had made dinner. When that was finished everyone went to their rooms and did there own things.

.--.

For a week this happened. I also found out in there free time the others also taught Kagome a lot of stuff. She was progressing very rapidly too. Faster then I would have thought possible. After two weeks she had mastered her chakra control, she could use some ninjutsu, genjutsu, and every kind of taijutsu. During the training time no one had tried to get to know her. Now that we had finished the training period we had more free time and everyone really tried to know her.

.--.

I woke up at the exact same time as every day. I sighed. I wanted to sleep in once some time, but for the past eight years, ever since I had killed our clan, I had got up at this time. I yawned once and got ready for the day. When I walked into the kitchen my breakfast and tea was waiting. Kagome was once again there reading. She smiled up at me and shut the book.

"Thank you for training me Itachi." She said with her most dazzling smile.

"You're welcome Kagome." I said blankly.

She rolled her eyes.

"It's just me. You don't have to put your cold mask on yet."

She took another sip of tea. I had learned that she could read a blank face like an open book. We might not have had time to think about her but she had certainly thought of us. She had found out a lot about us when we had barely noticed her more as a student. I smirked slightly. Then I slipped the mask on again. It wasn't all a mask, the coldness I mean. Some of it was real. I was cold. I drank and ate quickly. By the time the explosion started I had finished and was on my second cup of tea.

Kagome started to cook again and by the time the other sat down their food was ready. Everyone ate slowly today. Nobody had anything else to do. There were no missions and no one to train. I looked the others over. Kisame seemed still half asleep, Tobi looked excited, like always, and Deidara looked annoyed. The one thing I noticed about the blonde was he got a bit fidgety when Kagome was near. I smirked slightly. He liked her. It was quite easy to see if you looked.

I pushed him from my thought sand looked to the others. Zetsu was watering some small plants in the kitchen, Konan was eating in silence, Kakuzu was arguing with Hidan about money, but Hidan wasn't listening he was watching Kagome. I saw a twinkle of desire in his eyes. I raised an eyebrow. He liked her too. I had never known the god loving man to show the interest his eyes showed now, in a woman. Pein was looking over everyone. His eyes met mine and I smirked. He squinted at me. Then he looked at the others.

I finally stood and walked off to the living room. I sat on the over cushioned couch and pulled a book from the shelf. There was a small section on the shelf of small orange bound books. There titles where covered by red slip covers. Sasori, Pein, Kakuzu, and I read them. The others didn't even bother to see what they were. Well Konan had. She had raised her eyebrows at us and never touched one again. I smirked. If the others ever found out what they were they would all die of shock. I shook my head and fell into the book.

Kagome's POV:

I sat watching the others. I saw Itachi leave but stayed. Over the two weeks I had learned stuff about the others; their likes, dislikes, and personalities. They didn't seem to know anything about me other then what they themselves had taught me. I was very proud of myself. I had learned ninja techniques in two weeks. It had been very simple once I could grasp the idea and control chakra. Chakra was easy to control too. It was easier to control then my miko powers and I had perfected those so chakra control had been a walk in the park. I sighed slightly and leaned back in my chair. After a while everyone started to drift away. I met my father's eyes and he stayed. When everyone was gone I looked at him seriously.

"I want to go meet this demon." I said.

He blinked.

"You mean the nine tailed fox?' He asked.

I nodded.

"I guess you can but if you are captured by the village we may not be able to help you."

"I can take care of myself." I retorted.

He nodded with a smile.

"Fine but you have to come up with any excuses you need."

I smiled.

"And I want you to bring the demon boy here after wards." He said.

I studied him a moment before nodding. Then I stood up.

"I'll go pack."

He nodded and headed off himself. I bolted to my room. When I reached it I pulled open a drawer and grabbed my back pack. I was happy to finally get out. I had been in the area for over two weeks and needed to go traveling. I threw some money, clothes, and other small but harmless items into my backpack. Then I threw in a few weapons scrolls. I had to admit putting weapons in small scrolls was genius. It saved so much room. Finally I threw a map I had gotten from one of the others in. I strapped on my weapon pouches and threw my bag on my shoulder. I then ran down stairs.

I found Itachi and Sasori in the living room. They hadn't even looked up as I walked in. I noticed they each had one of the small red books. But Itachi had a later volume. I walked up to the shelf and pulled on off. I had seen Kakuzu and Pein also reading the same books. I pulled off volume one. I flipped it open and started to read the first page. My eyes twitched as I got to about the fourth page. Who ever had written these books was a pervert. It was called 'come come paradise'. After another couple of pages I tossed the book into my bag. Miroku would have defiantly liked these books. I held back a tear that threatened to roll down my cheek for the dead monk. After I had wiped the tear away I turned to the puppet and sharingan masters. They looked up at me as I cleared my throat. They blinked at my bag.

"I'm going to Kohona for a while."

They nodded.

"I wish to tell you, you are both perverts, reading books like that."

They looked me with small smirks.

"And I wish to tell you I'm taking volume one with me, it sounds good so far."

Now they gaped at me. I grinned and skipped out of the room. I didn't see any of the others on the way out but I didn't much care. I breathed in a deep breathe of fresh air when I stepped into the sun. Then I pulled my map out and took off. It was a beautiful day and I was overjoyed at travelling again. I sped off in the trees humming with a large smile.

.--.

For the whole day nothing happened. I jumped through the trees in the sunlight with a happy feeling. I loved traveling and when it was this nice out it was even nicer to travel. That night I didn't stop till it was to dark to see. Then all I did was pull outs some food, eat it quickly, and curl up under a plain green cloak and fall asleep. The next morning I filled my water bottle from a stream and ate while running. I wanted to get to my destination quickly. The day was pretty much like the last. It went by quickly and happily. Then on the third day I set of once again.

Today was sunny and quiet but I had a feeling. It wasn't a feeling screaming danger just caution. I didn't hum today I just ran silently near the forest floor. Suddenly I felt a presence ahead of me. I slowed to a walk and cautiously walked into a clearing. There were three people there. One as a silver haired man, one was a spiky black haired teen, and the last was a pale man with long black hair. I could only see the pale mans face. My eyes widened slightly.

~~FLASHBACK~~

I was sitting on my bed reading. I was planning to go to bed soon. Suddenly a knock rang out.

"Come in." I said.

My dad walked in and smiled slightly.

'Hi dad."

"Hi Kagome."

"Any reason for the visit?" I asked.

He nodded.

"You know that you need a ring to get in the base and such and it also signifies that you are an Akatsuki member, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, I wondered why I hadn't got one."

"Well there are only a certain number of them."

I tilted my head and waited.

"There is still one ring or you but someone else has it in their position." He said.

"Who?" I asked.

"His name is Orochimaru. He was a member but he ran. We tried to catch him but he is very sneaky. He has made a village of ninja, called Sound. He also has a personal body guards named Kabuto and Sasuke. Kabuto is a medic and Sasuke is just strong. Orochimaru though is stronger. He killed the leader of Kohona and still lived. He has the last ring. We need to get it from him before you can have it."

I nodded slowly.

"So if I meet him try to get it."

"I guess, but be careful. He is stronger then he looks."

I nodded and with a smile Pein left the room.

~~END OF FLASH BACK~~

The three people turned to me. We stood about ten feet away. I blinked at Kabuto. He was the one with the silver hair and glasses. I felt medic abilities in him. The second guard was Sasuke. I starred at him a moment. He looked exactly like Itachi. He had a red sharingan activated and had black hair. I wondered if he was a relative, but Pein had told me Itachi had killed all his family. I shook my head and got ready.


	35. Betrayal Part 2 : Crossover

Sasuke's POV:

We had been planning quietly. Orochimaru, Kabuto, and I had stopped in the clearing while we had planned. We had been talking until we felt someone else enter the clearing. We all turned to look at the person. It was a woman. She had long black silky hair, soft brown eyes, creamy skin, a lovely figure, a stubborn chin, and luscious lips. We starred at her a moment. She was very pretty. She looked to be my age. I thought I wouldn't mind her as a wife to help me restore my clan. She also starred back at us. She gaped at me a moment. Then she got ready to fight.

"Who are you?" Kabuto asked.

"Kagome." She said.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I'm traveling to Kohona when I accidentally ran into you guys. That's all Sasuke."

We all blinked at her.

"You know me?" I asked.

"Not really. I just know a few things about You, Kabuto, and Orochimaru. But I do know enough."

We all looked at her suspiciously.

"Before we do anything I have to know this; Are you an Uchiha?" She asked me.

I blinked.

"Yes."

"Are you the last one?" She asked.

I growled.

"No. My murderous brother is still alive. He killed the rest of our clan but left me alive."

"So you are Itachi's brother."

I tensed at the way she said my brothers name in a familiar way. We all took fighting positions.

"You know my brother?" I asked.

"Yes. He trained me."

Now we all gaped at her. Then I laughed.

"He wouldn't train a weak woman like you. He wouldn't train anyone."

"Well he did train me. Leader asked him to."

Orochimaru hissed.

"You are Akatsuki?" He asked.

"Yes, and Orochimaru, you have something I want."

Orochimaru laughed and held up a hand with a ring on a finger.

"You mean this ring."

"Yes." Was all Kagome said.

We looked at each other for a moment. No one moved.

"So are you going to take it?" Orochimaru taunted.

Kagome looked us over.

"I don't know. I don't really want to fight, I'm busy."

"What do you want with Kohona?" I asked.

"I want to meet Naruto. I heard a lot about him."

'You want the demon in him." I said bluntly.

"I guess that too."

"What village are you from?" Kabuto asked.

Kagome blinked.

"I'm not from any village. I was just trained by Itachi and the others."

I watched her. She seemed to be deciding whether or not to fight.

"Are you going to just stand there or will you fight us?" I asked.

"I haven't decided." She sighed. "It had been such a nice day too."

She looked up at the clouds and watched them for a minute. She reminded me of Shikamaru for a minute. Then she looked back at us.

"I guess I'll fight."

I smirked. I wanted to fight her. I wanted to see how well Itachi had trained her. We got ready. She grabbed a scroll from her backpack before we could even blink.

"I will not go easy or hold back so I expect you to fight all out too." She said.

I blinked. Her voice was serious and had an edge to it. Her soft eyes had turned hard and her mouth set in a grim line. She dropped her backpack on the ground and got ready. Orochimaru and Kabuto looked at me, then stood back and waited, letting me fight by myself. Kagome glanced at them. Then she whipped her scroll open. She threw the empty scroll aside when she had her weapon in hand. We all blinked at the long scythe.

"Come Sasuke show me how strong the little brother is."

I scowled.

"I have learned from past experience that no mater how evil the older is he is the one with the most honour and strength. The younger always turns out to be the temperamental, weak one."

I growled. She wasn't just taunting me; she was telling me what she knew to be facts. I determined to prove her the little brother was stronger. We both shot forwards. I had a short sword in my hands. I had pulled it from its sheath as soon as she had brought the scythe out. Out weapons crashed. I was at a disadvantage with such a small sword but I also had my sharingan. We both jumped back. I lunged in again but she spun her scythe just a blur swirling around her. I jumped back, but still go a knick. I glared at the woman. She looked absolutely blank. Then she pulled out a short sword I hadn't seen at her waist. She gently put her scythe by her bag and straightened again. We rushed forwards and our blades locked. Our faces inches apart. I smiled at her.

"So, when my brother trained you did he train you at night in his bed too?" I asked. "Do you enjoy sleeping with that murderer?"

She scowled.

"Did you enjoy sleeping with four eyes and the pale snake?"

I growled. I saw Kabuto start to fume and almost start at us. Orochimaru stopped him. He seemed amused at her taunts.

"I have never slept with them, but I'm guessing you and Itachi have hit it off lots of times."

"Itachi is more respectable then that. He is a lot more handsome then you too."

She smirked as I glared. We finally broke apart. I stood ready as Kagome rushed at me. I braced but she ran past me. I blinked and looked behind me. She was right in front of Orochimaru. Kabuto and Orochimaru had time to gap once. Then Kagome nailed Kabuto in the stomach. I heard a couple of cracks, and winced. He had at least three broken ribs. He flew back and crashed into a tree. He slumped to the ground unconscious.

Orochimaru scowled and got ready. Kagome ran at him with an evil grin. Orochimaru got ready to attack but stopped. His eyes widened as another Kagome dropped behind him, knocking him out. The one behind him disappeared in a poof of smoke. I blinked. I wondered when she had made the shadow clone. Then Kagome crouched down by Orochimaru. She pulled the ring off his finger and put it on her own finger. She smiled and turned back to me. She smiled at me. I blinked. Her smile was really friendly and warm.

"Well I got what I want. I don't need to fight you anymore. And I'm sorry about taunting you. I know you haven't slept with four eyes. I can feel your purity. You haven't slept with anyone yet."

I gaped. A moment ago we had been trying to kill one another, now she was smiling, apologizing, and acting as if we were friends. She frowned slightly and walked up to me. I didn't feel any danger from her so I let her walk up to me. She looked at the cut on my chest where her scythe had hit me. She put her hand against it and healing chakra ran into me. The cut healed instantly. I shivered at her touch. It sent electricity up my spin. I blinked. Her one touch had done that. She smiled at me.

"There all better."

Then she stepped past me and put the scythe back in the scroll. Her short sword was already in its sheath. She put the scroll in her bag and looked around.

"Do you want me to heal the other two?" She asked.

I blinked. She had just offered to heal the enemy. She had also offered it when they would wake up angry and want to kill. I shook my head. I didn't want to have to fight her again, and I didn't want the others to kill her. She smiled at me again.

"I must be going now."

She reached down for her bag. I walked towards her. She blinked at me and stood back up. Once she was straight I shot forwards. She squeaked as I pinned her against the tree behind her. She opened her mouth to say something but I stopped her by kissing her. She gasped and I slipped my tongue in. A moan escaped her. I grinned inwardly. My whole body shivered with pleasure. I was aware of her body pushed against mine and her warm mouth. My mouth ravished hers. She didn't do anything. She just stood frozen. I enjoyed the kiss till I had to break for air. Then I broke it gasping.

"I can't blame my brother if he did take you to bed now." I said breathlessly.

I jumped back and rested a hand on Kabuto and Orochimaru.

"You're mine now. I'll kill any who touch you." I said.

Kagome blinked at me. She still looked to be in shock.

"Just wait, I'll come get you."

Then I flickered away with the other two.

Kagome's POV:

I stood perfectly still. I barely breathed for five minutes after Sasuke had kissed me. I couldn't deny that some of me liked the kiss. I just stood starring off into space. I still couldn't believe he had kissed me. After about another ten minutes I picked my back pack up and shot through the trees. As I did I scowled. He had said I was his and he would kill any who touched me. I scowled even more. He was like Koga but colder.

What was it with guys and being so possessive? Who said I wanted to be his? I shook my head. It didn't matter. I most likely wouldn't see him again. I sighed and continued on my way. I looked at my ring finger. I liked the Akatsuki ring. It was a deep red and when the light hit it you could see wisps of black. It was polished like glass and felt completely smooth. After a while I finally sighed and thought of other things.

I ran for about four hours before I finally pulled out my map again. It was about dinner time. I looked at the map and smiled. It seemed I was getting very close to Kohona. Most likely only an hour left. I slipped my map back into my bag and continued running. After about fifty minutes I slowed. I could sense the presence of a lot of people. I guessed I was very close by now. I walked down a small dirt road. I followed it for a couple of minutes before a large gate came in view. I gaped. It was a huge wall with a large gate on it. 'At least the town is protected.' I thought.

As I got closer to the gate I saw guards on the wall and some by the gate. As soon as I had arrived the guards asked for my papers. Luckily my father had thought of this and given me some fake ones. He had said they wouldn't even be able to tell the difference between real papers and the fakes. The guards examined them closely. Then they looked at me suspiciously. I smiled at the guards. They immediately smiled back and the mood lightened a bit. They pointed out the Hokage's tower when I asked.

I bowed and took my papers back before walking off. I needed to see the Hokage first and see if I could become a Kohona ninja. It was part of my plan. If I could get close to Naruto then it would make it so much easier to capture him. And I didn't want to just walk around the place. Besides if I didn't become a ninja then I couldn't really be counted as a missing nin. I walked up the large building and talked to the guards.

They smiled at me and led me to the top office. I followed and smiled at them. I had found out my smile made people relax. They knocked on the door and one went in. A moment later he came out and shooed me in. As soon as I stepped in they shut the door. I looked around. It was a large office. There were large windows, shelves, and a desk. A woman sat behind the desk covered in papers. She had blonde hair and looked to be about thirty, but I could sense she was older. She clasped her hands and looked at me.

"How may I help you? I heard you needed to talk to me."

"Yes I have a request Hokage-sama."

"A request?"

"Yes. I wish to become a Kohona ninja. I was never past of any other ninja village. I lived outside a village with my father but my father knew lots about ninja's and trained me. I decided I wanted to be a ninja and came straight here." I smiled softly.

Tsunade's POV:

I squinted at the woman in front of me. She didn't seem to be a threat but she was strong. Stronger then most. The guards had brought her here and hadn't seemed cautious of her at all. They had been friendly. She had a good personality as far as I could tell and her smile made me trust her. She seemed actually quite friendly, trustworthy, and nice. And that was just from hearing her talk once and seeing her smile. So she made a very good impression.

"It is a large request."

She seemed to wilt a bit.

"Oh. If you can't do that then that's okay. I'm sorry to have bothered you."

She bowed and turned to leave.

"I never said it wasn't possible."

She turned to me and her eyes seemed to light up. I almost smiled. She seemed eager.

"So I can become a ninja?"

"I have to ask you a few questions first."

"Okay."

"Name?"

"Higurashi Kagome."

"Where did you used to live?"

"Outside a village past the village hidden in the star."

"Why did you choose Kohona?"

"Because my father suggested it. He said it was a large village and had a nice Hokage and everyone was friendly and nice."

"Why do you want to become a ninja?"

"So I can help others."

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Do you know how to use any weapons?"

"Yes. I am a master of the bow, scythe, sword, knife, spear, staff, and axe."

My eyes widened slightly but I quickly schooled my face.

"Do you have any other family besides your father?"

She wilted again.

"No."

"Were they killed?"

"No but I left them to live with my father. I had to choose. Either always stay with them or live with my father and become a ninja. I choose my father, and the training of a ninja."

I thought a moment.

"Do you know ninja history?"

"Yes. I was taught all the main parts of most of the villages and all of the details of Kohona, Suna, and the villages hidden in the stone, and mist."

"Do you work well with partners?"

"Yes. I like to work with others better then working by myself. And I love to travel."

I studied her a moment. She didn't seem to be lying.

"I wish to test you before I make a decision."

She nodded. I stood up.

"Shizune!"

The door opened and a dark brown haired woman walked in.

"Yes Tsunade-sama?"

"Get Sakura, Tenten, Naruto, Gai, and Kakashi."

"Hai."

She quickly walked out. I pulled a chair out.

"Please sit."

"Thank you." She said kindly.

I smiled. I knew I was already warming up to her.

"What kind of ninja abilities do you have?" I asked.

"Well I'm pretty good at taijutsu, I know genjutsu, and Ninjutsu. I also have good medic abilities."

I looked at her then nodded.

"So did you have a good journey here?"

"Yes. It was very nice, except when I ran into a boy my age. He had spiky black hair and red eyes."

I froze.

"You mean Sasuke?" I asked.

She blinked.

"Yes he said that was his name."

"What did he do?'

"Well I accidentally ran into him. He just glared at me and then left. He wasn't very nice. But he didn't threaten me or anything. Why? Do you know him?"

"He used to be a Kohona ninja, but then he left and joined sound. He is dangerous. You are lucky."

She nodded.

"He seemed too distracted to hurt me. He took off quite quickly."

I nodded. Suddenly I heard feet running towards the room. The door flew open and Naruto and the others stepped in.

"What is it old lady?!" He asked.

Kagome's POV:

The people ran in and the boy yelled out.

"What is it old lady?!"

Next thing I knew a chair flew over my head and smashed into him. I blinked.

"I told you not to call me that!" Tsunade yelled.

I blinked. Then I smiled slightly. I had heard that Tsunade had a temper. She seemed to get back under control again though, quickly. I looked at the new people. The one hit by the chair had blonde spiky hair, blue eyes, and wore an orange and black outfit. I smiled. Pein had explained what Naruto looked like and told me he was energetic and obnoxious. I agreed now.

Then behind him was a girl with bright pink hair. She wore a medic skirt and had bright green eyes. This was Sakura. There was a man with silver hair and a mask covering his face and one eye. He was the copy ninja Kakashi. Then there was a man with really bushy eyebrows and black hair in a green jump suit. He was Gai, the green beast of Kohona. Finally there was a girl with brown hair in buns. She wore a couple scrolls. This was Tenten the weapon master. I was glad the guys at Akatsuki had told me about these people. I looked them over. Naruto shot up throwing the chair to the side. Then they all seemed to see me.

"Who is that?" Naruto asked.

He seemed curious. I stood up and bowed slightly.

"Hello, my name is Kagome."

"Hi. My name is Sakura, this is Naruto, Kakashi, Gai, and Tenten." The pink haired girl smiled.

"I need your guys help to test Kagome here." Tsunade interrupted.

They all blinked.

"Kagome wishes to become a Kohona ninja but I need to test her skills first."

They all blinked again then slowly nodded. Tsunade quickly headed out the door. We all followed closely. I stayed near the back though. We followed Tsunade to the roof of the building which was quite large and clear. When we arrive Tsunade lined us up and stepped in front of us.

"We will test her with a series of short battles. Okay?"

"Hai." We all said.

Tsunade motioned me forwards. She also pulled Gai forwards.

"Only a taijutsu match. Got it?"

"Hai." We said.

Gai and I got in positions.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you!" He said giving a large smile and a thumbs-up.

"Uh…okay." I said.

Tsunade smiled and told us to begin. Gai shot forwards, his smile gone and his eye serious. I waited till he was right in front of me before side stepping and lashing out with my foot. It connected with his side. He flew back, but did a flip and landed on his feet. He shot forwards again. This time I stood still and waited for his attack. He jumped into a kick. I blocked and grabbed his leg. He twisted and tried to punch but I caught his fist in my palm. I threw him off to the side. I scowled slightly. He wasn't fighting full out.

"Gai, fight full out." Tsunade said calmly from the side.

I had known he was going quite easy on me because Itachi had told me that most people couldn't even block Gai's attacks let alone counter them. He had told me that Gai could go so fast he was a blur. I waited. Gai nodded to Tsunade and shot forwards again. This time he was a blur. I smirked. This was now a real fight. I waited till he was on top of me again. I acted like I didn't see him. Then I spun lashing out with my foot. It connected again, sending him back but I wasn't finished.

I ran up beside his still flying body and kicked him in the side so he shot off in a new direction and a little higher. Then I jumped up above him. I brought my foot down. I hit him squarely in the gut. His eyes bulged and I felt bones crack. He coifed up some blood and made a huge dent in the roof. He was unconscious a second later. I jumped back and waited. I looked up at the others. They were gaping, even Tsunade. I also noticed two others just by the door. Their eyes were wide too. I cleared my throat and they seemed to snap out of their surprise.

"Do you want me to heal him? He has some broken bones."

There eyes widened again but Tsunade nodded. I walked back to Gai and crouched down. Blue chakra gathered around my hand and I healed Gai's ribs. Then I brought him back to consciousness. He wiped some blood from the side of his mouth and sat up. He slowly stood and walked back to Tsunade.

Tsunade's POV:

Gai walked back over to me. We were still all shocked. Kagome had beaten our Taijutsu master in a taijutsu match in less then a minute. She had also broken bones. I now at least knew she was an excellent taijutsu user and had medic abilities. Gai walked over to us. He stopped in front of me. He was waiting for me to reprimand him.

"That was good Gai. She was just better then you." I said.

He sighed sadly and stood beside me. I had noticed that Kurenai and Asuma had come up. They slowly walked forwards.

"Who is that?" Kurenai asked.

"If she beat Gai she's good." Asuma said.

"This is Kagome. She wishes to become a Kohona ninja. We are testing her." I said.

They just nodded.

"Actually I'd like Kurenai to fight her now."

Kurenai blinked then nodded. She stepped forwards and watched Kagome cautiously. Kagome smiled and bowed slightly. Kurenai seemed to lighten and also bowed slightly. I smiled softly. Kagome's smiled melted tension no mater what and gave a very good impression. Kurenai and Kagome both got ready. When I signalled the start Kurenai did rapid hand signs. Suddenly roots cracked through the roof. Kagome looked around quickly. She was completely surrounded. The roots grew until they were huge. They branched off and grew flowers. It was like we were in a sea of vines.

We were inside so we could see still. A large root wrapped around Kagome's legs. She blinked then also did some hand signs. The roots let go and went for Kurenai. We all blinked. We knew this was a genjutsu. Kagome had some how turned Kurenai's own genjutsu against her. Kurenai's eyes widened once before roots twirled around her. They constricted around her. Her arms were pinned uselessly to her side. She tried to move but the roots just got tighter. She gasped as they tightened. Even if it was a genjutsu it could still give pain.

Suddenly the roots around Kurenai, which had previously had red flowers that Kurenai's roots always had, had changed. The flowers turned from red blossoms to blue and silver lilies. They looked beautiful. Kagome did more hand signs, and the roots turned to vines. I gaped as I realized what she was doing. First she had taken over Kurenai's genjutsu then she had slowly started to change it. Now it was her genjutsu. The vines still snaked up Kurenai. Suddenly the vines were no longer vines. I saw scales and fangs.

I gasped. They had changed to snakes. I looked at Kurenai. She really didn't like snakes. Her eyes widened. The snake around her lifted its head to look into her eyes. Its tongue darted around. It's piercing gold eyes looked the woman over and the tongue smelled her. Kurenai was fighting but the snake had her. Kurenai bit her lip and the snake loosened slightly but not enough for her to move. Suddenly it hissed and squeezed even tighter. Kurenai gasped for air which she couldn't get. Then with one last squeeze she fell unconscious.

The snake and vines all disappeared and we were once again back on roof top. Kagome walked over to Kurenai and brought her back to consciousness. Kurenai blinked then slowly stood up and hurried back to us. I watched Kagome. She was a very good ninja. I had just one more test.

"Tenten, you're up." I said.

They all blinked at me.

"What?" Tenten asked.

"I want you to fight her with weapons. Be careful."

I said the last part quietly. She slowly nodded and stepped forwards. She looked slightly nervous. Once again Kagome smiled and Tenten relaxed. Kagome pulled scrolls from her bag and stepped forwards. Everyone was watching very, very closely. I told them to begin. Tenten pulled out two long swords. Kagome pulled out a wicked looking scythe. It looked like one the grim reaper would hold. Tenten shivered once but only I noticed. Then Kagome shot forwards. Tenten brought her swords up just in time. I noticed that even if Tenten hadn't blocked the scythe wouldn't have hit her.

I released a breath. It seemed Kagome wasn't trying to kill her. Kagome jumped back and spun. Her scythe twirled and glinted in the sun. Tenten brought her swords up in a block but was still pushed back. Then before she could so anything Kagome was there in the blink of an eye with her blade against Tenten's throat. Everyone tensed. Kagome pulled away and smiled. We all let out sighs of relief. Then Kagome put her scythe away. She waited and Tenten walked back to us. I looked at her to make sure she was all right then I looked back to Kagome. She was waiting patiently.

"I think we are done the testing." I said.

They all nodded. I motioned Kagome forwards. She stepped up to me.

"I accept you as a Kohona ninja.

Kagome's eyes lit up and she smiled. I pulled a headband from my pocket and handed it to her. She gently took it. She tied it around her left arm and waited.

"You will be part of Kakashi's team. That means Sakura and Naruto are your partners."

'There I killed two birds with one stone. I got her in a group and I got Naruto and Sakura a new partner to replace Sasuke.' I thought. Kagome looked excited. Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto looked at Kagome closely. She smiled at them and they smiled back.

"Where can I stay?" Kagome asked.

"You can stay in the apartment next to Naruto if you want." I said.

She nodded.

"Kurenai, Gai, Asuma, and Tenten, you may leave. Kakashi, Sakura, Naruto, and Kagome I want you to come with me."

"Hai." Everyone chorused.

Then the ones dismissed shot off and the rest followed me back to my office. When we entered I sat behind my desk and the others stopped in front of me. I grabbed some keys from my drawer and threw them to Kagome. She caught them easily.

"Those are the keys to your apartment."

She nodded.

"Well that is all I have to say. You may leave. Naruto can show you around."

Naruto and Kagome nodded and Naruto grabbed Kagome and dragged her away. Kakashi and Sakura stayed though. I looked up at them. When I was sure Kagome was out of ear shot I spoke.

"I want you guys to keep an eye on her. She may be a spy. I doubt it. She doesn't seem like the spying type, but still watch her. If she does anything suspicious tell me."

They both nodded.

"Train with her too. I want to know how she progresses."

They nodded again.

"That is it. You may leave."

They both bowed and walked out together. I sighed. We got a new strong ninja but I wished I knew if she was trust worthy. She seemed nice and I didn't think she had lied when I had asked her the questions but there was a difference between lying and not telling the whole truth. I sighed again. Hopefully she wouldn't be another Sasuke. She was strong, stronger then Sasuke most likely. I looked out my window, down at the streets. I saw Naruto, Kagome, Kakashi, and Sakura walking away. I sighed once more and turned back to my paper work.

Kakashi's POV:

Once Sakura and I had been dismissed we headed down the stairs.

"So do you think we can trust Kagome?" Sakura asked suddenly.

"She seems nice. Tsunade is right, I don't think she is a spy but we can't be too careful." I said. "She beat Gai, Tenten, and Kurenai like they were nothing so we have to watch her."

Sakura nodded and we both walked out of the building. We saw Naruto talking to Kagome just a few feet away.

"Seems Naruto has already warmed up to her." I said.

"Naruto could warm up to anyone in a second." Sakura snorted.

I smiled slightly. We both walked over to the pair. Kagome smiled at us. Her smile made me trust her. I didn't know why but it was such a nice smile. We both smiled back.

"We have to introduce Kagome to everyone!" Naruto said.

I saw Kagome grin at him.

"Why don't we get something to eat first?" She asked. "I've travelling all day and I'm hungry."

Then it hit me. I gaped. Kagome had beaten the three even after she had been travelling all day. I quickly blanked my face though.

"Do you like ramen?" Naruto asked.

"I love ramen!" Kagome grinned.

"Then Ramen it is!" Naruto yelled walking off.

Sakura and I sighed then followed the two. Naruto led us to the ramen place and we all sat down and ordered. Kagome and Naruto got ramen at the same time.

"Hooray!" They both said digging in.

Sakura and I raised an eyebrow and grinned. It seemed Kagome was a lot like Naruto. The two finished their first bowl before Sakura or even got ours. They each ordered a second bowl and ate while talking. We found out that Kagome was from outside a village a long ways away and had been trained by her father. She had come here because she had wanted to be a full fledge ninja. We all got to know each other as we ate the ramen. When we had finally finished we all paid and stood up.

"Meet here in the morning tomorrow at nine!" Naruto yelled.

"Why?' We all asked.

"Because we have to show Kagome around, and it's too late right now." He said.

We all nodded. Then Sakura and I headed off to our own places while Kagome and Naruto walked off.

Kagome's POV:

I followed Naruto as he led the way to his apartment. He seemed really nice. He didn't seem to have merged with the demon and it wasn't appearing to take over. When we arrived I looked around. It was a normal apartment. He led me up the stairs to the top floor. He looked at my key and pointed out a room. Then he showed me where his room was.

"If you need anything just come over.' He said.

I smiled.

"Thank you Naruto." I said.

I gave him a peck on the cheek and headed into my room. I saw him standing there bright red as I shut my door. I looked around my room. It had one large room with two doors. The first led to a small bathroom and the second led to a small room. The large room had a kitchen and living room. There was already a table, chairs, couch, carpet, and a couple shelves. The room had a bed, fully made, a dresser, and a nightstand. The bathroom had everything a normal bathroom would have. The living room and bedroom also had two large windows.

I smiled. It seemed that they kept this place ready for someone who came with nothing and were planning to stay. I quickly unpacked my bags. When that was done I quickly did a clean. When everything was as clean as it could be I yawned and walked into my room. I set my watch on the nightstand and quickly got changed into pyjamas. Then I flopped into my bed and pulled out the 'Come Come Paradise'. After a while I set my book down and looked at my watch. It was about ten o'clock. I smiled and burrowed into my bed.

.--.

I woke up with the sun falling on my face. I slowly opened my eyes and sat up. It looked beautiful outside. I yawned once and jumped up. I made my bed and had a quick shower before I got dressed. Then I strapped on my weapon pouches and one scroll, and then I slipped my small red book into a pouch and walked into the living room. I scowled. I didn't have any food or tea. The cupboards did hold a tea pot, plates, bowls, cups, spoons, forks, knives, chopsticks, pots, pants, and other utensils. I sighed. I would have to go shopping. I looked at my clock. It was about seven o'clock, so I had two hours until we had to meet the others.

I walked back to my room and grabbed my wallet. Pein had given me some money. He had told me that I might be there a while so he had given money for my food and such. He also told me it was my allowance for all the years he had been away and unable to pay. I opened it and gaped at the money inside. I finally closed it and grinned. He had given me enough to last a long time. I stuffed my wallet into my pocket and locked the door before I headed out. It was a wonderful day. The sun was shining and some people were already outside. I walked up to an old woman and smiled at her. She smiled back.

"May I help you deary?" She asked kindly.

"Can you tell me where a grocery store is?" I asked.

"You're new?"

I nodded.

'"Well welcome to Kohona. The grocery store is five blocks away. Just take a right and head down the road."

"Thank you."

She waved as I walked off. I followed her directions and easily found the grocery store. I bought tea and other foods. When I finally left the little store I had two bags weighing down each hand. I hummed as I walked down the road. Everyone greeted you as you passed. I smiled and nodded back. It was a nice village. It was cheerful and friendly. I could like it here. I sighed. But I wouldn't fit in. Itachi had told me most of the laws, and I disagreed with to many. I liked places that didn't have too many rules. I shrugged. I would stay here until I needed to leave. I slowed down as I neared a flower shop. I stopped and looked at all the flowers with a small smile. I loved flowers. I liked to watch Rin pick flowers to. My smile disappeared as I thought of Rin. I missed her and would most likely never see her again.

"May I help you?" Someone asked.

I looked up to see a girl my age. She had blonde hair in a ponytail with some bangs covering one eye. She looked like Deidara.

"No. I'm just looking."

"Oh. Are you from around here? I've never seen you before." She said.

"I just moved here yesterday." I said.

"Really? My name is Ino, what's yours?"

"Kagome."

"Well Kagome I hope you like it here. Oh, here."

She handed me a blue flower. I blinked and took it.

"It's a welcoming present. That flower represents happy beginnings."

I smiled. It was beautiful.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"INO!" Someone called.

"COMING MOM!" She called back.

She waved and trotted into the store. I smiled at the flower and continued on my way. When I had reached my apartment I unlocked the door and walked in. I set my bags down and ran to the cupboard. I grabbed a tall glass and filled it with water. I set the flower in it and set it on my table. I smiled and quickly unpacked my bags. When that was finished it was eight fifteen. I decided to go see if Naruto was awake. I walked out of my room and to his door. I knocked once. I didn't get an answer. I tried again but still no answer. So I just walked in.

I grinned. Naruto was lying on a bed. He was completely stretched out. His pyjamas were twisted and he had a funny sleeping cap on. I looked around his room and raised an eyebrow. It was a mess. I noticed that ramen cups covered the table. He seemed to really like ramen. He was snoring. I smiled and started to clean up. I was very quiet and he didn't even stir. At eight thirty, fifteen minutes later, I had cleaned up almost the whole place. Then I walked up to Naruto. I shook his shoulder slightly. He just snorted. I grinned and leaned down near his ear.

"Naruto, someone is stealing al your ramen." I whispered.

He sat straight up and jumped from bed. He looked around quickly then he blinked.

"This isn't my house."

I grinned.

"This is your house when it's clean."

He turned to me and smiled.

"Oh, hi Kagome."

"Good morning Naruto. Now hurry up. We only have half an hour."

He nodded. Then he looked around again.

"Thanks for cleaning."

"You're welcome, now hurry."

He nodded and bounded into his bathroom. I heard the water running and started to make his bed. Fifteen minutes later he came out of the bathroom dry and full dressed. He threw his pyjamas on the bed and grinned.

"Let's go."

He ran out of the room. I followed more slowly. He locked his door and hopped down the stairs. Once outside he almost took off running.

"We have fifteen minutes Naruto." I said.

"I know."

Then he started to run.

"I'll meet you there slow poke."

Then he was gone. I smiled. He was running to get ramen. I just knew it. I walked more slowly down the street taking everything in. Suddenly a large dog ran up to me. He sat in front of me and tipped his head. I crouched beside him and petted him softly. He started to wag his tail and pant, leaning into my hand. I smiled.

"You are a fine dog aren't you?"

He barked agreement.

"Akamaru!" A voice yelled.

The dog barked.

"So your name is Akamaru?" I asked.

The dog nodded. Suddenly a boy ran up. He was wearing a black coat and he had two red stripes on his face.

"Sorry about that." He said to me. "Akamaru you shouldn't just run off and make strangers pet you." He told the dog.

The dog just snorted and let me continue to pet him.

"That's okay. I like him." I said. "He is very strong, loyal and well trained."

The boy smiled.

"Are you a ninja?" I asked.

"Yeah. My name is Inuzuka Kiba, and that's Akamaru."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Kagome."

"It seems Akamaru likes you."

Akamaru was making soft growling noises as I scratched his ear.

"He is lovely."

"You have a dog?" Kiba asked.

"No."

"Well we have to go. We promised to meet Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi at the ramen place." Kiba said.

"Oh! I'm heading there now."

"Well then we can all go together."

I smiled and nodded. We started to walk off chatting about animals. As we neared the ramen place we heard yelling. We arrived exactly on time and to see Naruto get thrown into a wall by Ino and Sakura. A girl with long black hair and light violet eyes was standing off to the side looking between the girls and Naruto. She just stood there as Naruto sat up.

"Naruto, you shouldn't make Hinata embarrassed like that!" The girls yelled.

"He didn't embarrass me." The girl said quietly.

"What did you do Naruto?" Kiba asked.

"All I did was kiss her. Then she turned bright red. And finally the two girls attacked me." He grumbled.

I grinned. Suddenly they spotted me.

"Hi Kagome." Naruto, Sakura, and Ino all said.

Then they all blinked at one another.

"You know Kagome?" Kiba, Ino, Sakura, and Naruto all asked at the same time.

I grinned.

"I met Ino at the flower shop, I met Kiba when I petted Akamaru, and I met Sakura and Naruto with Tsunade."

"She's our new partner." Naruto said.

"So you're a ninja?" Kiba and Ino asked.

We all nodded. Then Naruto walked up to the black haired girl who blushed as he wrapped his arms around her waist. I smiled. I was taking a wild guess and guessing she was his girlfriend. He chatted to her as he sat down at the ramen bar and ordered. We all smiled and also sat down. I noticed Kakashi wasn't here yet but the others didn't think it a big enough deal to point out so I shrugged it off. As we ordered and ate we all talked. After a while another boy found us. He had a large green coat with a hood and he wore small black shades. He looked at me.

"This is Shino. He is Hinata's and my partner. Our leader is Kurenai-sensei." Kiba said.

As if on cue Kurenai walked up. She looked at her team then at me. I smiled at her. She looked back with a blank face.

"I want a rematch sometime." She said.

Her team's eyes widened along with Ino's.

"You beat Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked before I could answer.

We both nodded. I saw more people heading for us. One was a fat kid with a red outfit. He was eating a bag of chips. Beside him was Asuma. And beside Asuma was a boy with a green vest. He had brown hair pulled into a pony tail and looked bored. They stopped in front of us. The two boys looked at me.

"This is Kagome, she's Sakura's and Naruto's new partner." Ino said. "Kagome this is Choji and Shikamaru, Asuma-sensei is our leader."

I smiled at them. Asuma looked at me closely. I looked at Shikamaru. The shadows around him seemed to like him. He also had an intelligent look in his eyes. He may look bored and lazy but I could easily tell he was intelligent. I nodded to the two. They seemed to be studying me too.

"All you have to meet is Tenten's team now." Sakura said. "Speak of the devil."

Tenten was walking towards us dragging a boy with long brown hair. He had light grey eyes that looked like Hinata's. I guessed they were from the same clan; The Hyugas. From the opposite direction, came two clouds of dust. They both stopped near us at the same time as Tenten and the boy. The clouds of dust were Gai and a boy that looked almost exactly like him.

"Hello everyone." Tenten said.

We all nodded.

"Neji, lee, this is Kagome, she's Naruto and Sakura's partner." Tenten said. "Kagome this is Lee and Neji they are on my team under Gai-sensei."

I nodded.

"Neji is Hinata's cousin." Naruto said while still eating.

"Nice to meet you all."

"Kagome, you still haven't agreed to my request." Kurenai said.

"Oh, I would like to have a rematch sometime."

"I would like to face you again too." Gai said with a smile.

I raised an eyebrow. Not too much seem to faze this guy.

"What!?" Ino, Choji, Neji, Shikamaru, Lee, Shino, Kiba, and Hinata all asked at the same time.

"She beat Gai-sensei, and Kurenai sensei?" Neji asked.

"Yes. She also beat Tenten." Sakura said.

Everyone turned to her.

"Even after she had travelled all day."

They all gaped at me. I got a bit nervous at their stares and started to fidget.

"Come on you guys are making her nervous." Kakashi said from behind everyone.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto and Sakura yelled.

"Sorry, I got lost on the path of life."

I felt my mouth twitch in amusement as the other two sighed. When I had finished my ramen Lee was right in my face.

"Want to race?" he asked.

Everyone waited for my answer.

"Uh…okay?"

He smiled.

"I'll set up my clones at the check points." Naruto said.

He did a couple hand signs and a whole bunch of Naruto's shot off.

"So where do we go?" I asked.

"Once around Kohona. Just follow the wall. You may go on the roof tops." Lee said excitedly.

"Oh okay. I see you are wearing weights, will you take them off?"

He nodded eagerly. Then he pulled them off handing them to Gai.

"May I take mine off too?" I asked.

They all blinked at me then nodded. Itachi had made me wear weights telling me they strengthened me and taught me speed. I hadn't complained. I pulled the ones on my legs and arms off handing them to Sakura who told me she would hold them. She gaped at them in her hand. Then she set them down. She grabbed one of mine and one of Lee's weighing the in her hand. She looked at me with wide eyes.

"You're weights are at least as heavy as lee's." She said.

Now everyone's eyes also widened. They quickly shook off the thoughts and Lee and I lined up. Sakura cleared her throat and stood between us.

"Three, Two, One, Go!"

We both shot of, almost a blur. We heard cheers but quickly out ran them. I ran beside lee until we reached the wall and I high fived the first Naruto. With my sharp eyesight that I had got from my miko powers I saw the next Naruto. I shot off past Lee planning to win this race. I looked back at him and smiled once. We had been on the ground but as I came to a busy street I jumped up to the roof. I ran straight for the cheering Naruto clone. I high fived him too and scouted out the next clone.

I saw him and shot off. I noticed lee had also jumped to the roof tops now. As he high fived the one Naruto I had already passed the next one. I continued on this way and continually increased the distance between Lee and I. When I reached the last Naruto he clapped me on the back as I shot for the finish line. I could see the others cheering. As I crossed the finish line I slowed. I stopped and looked back. Lee was still heading for u sat full speed. When he had passed the finish line and stopped, they all congratulated us. They seemed amazed that I had won but told Lee that I had a speed even he couldn't beat. I watched them as they all talked. I knew that Kakashi was right beside me. We both stood off to the side in silence.

"So how did you get so fast?" He asked.

"Training."

"A lot of it?"

"Years."

He nodded. He glanced at me again.

"You aren't a spy are you?"

'That was blunt.' I thought. I turned to face him. I waited till he looked me right in the eye.

"I am not a spy for another village. I never belonged to another village. This is the first ninja village I have ever been at." I said calmly but seriously.

He watched me a moment. Then he nodded. Then he looked at everyone else.

"I have to go see Tsunade. I'll see you all later."

I nodded.

"Tell her I said hi."

He nodded and shot off. I watched him leave then sighed. It was a nice village but I had the feeling I wouldn't be here for long. I sighed again. As everyone sort of wandered off, Sakura and Naruto wandered over to me. I smiled at them.

"That race was awesome! You whooped fuzzy brows." Naruto grinned.

I had to grin back.

"Where is Kakashi?" Sakura asked. "I saw him over here last."

I smirked inwardly. She was observant. That would be a problem.

"He went to talk with Tsunade." I said.

They both nodded.

"Now what?" Naruto asked.

"We could train." Sakura said.

"But with out Kakashi it's boring. You don't know anything new." He whined.

"Well you could show your moves off to Kagome." Sakura said with a grin in my direction.

I nodded.

"Yeah Naruto. I would love to see how strong you are." I said clasping my hands by my cheek.

Naruto stuck his chest out and walked off calling to us.

"Well let's go then."

We grinned at one another before we followed. We followed him to the training grounds where he stopped and grinned.

"What move should I show you?" He asked.

"Show me your strongest attack." I said.

He grinned and stuck out a hand while making a shadow clone. The shadow clone started to move his hands around and I saw chakra swirl in Naruto's hand. I blinked he wasn't using any hand signs. I looked at the blue swirling chakra closely.

"So you gather chakra in your hand and make it spin opposite ways while keeping it in the shape of a tight sphere?" I asked.

"Correct. You are very observant."

We all looked up at the white haired man as he walked up to us. He smiled and turned to me.

"What you said was true. That attack is called the Rasengan."

I smiled. I knew this man was Jiraya one of the great Sannin.

"Could I learn it Jiraya–sama?" I asked.

They all blinked at me.

"How do you know my name?' he asked.

"You are one of the great Sannin everyone knows your name." I said with a brilliant smile.

He smiled back and looked proud. Naruto rolled his eyes and Sakura sighed.

"Yes you could learn. May I ask if you are Kagome, the girl who beat Gai, Tenten, and Kurenai in fights and Lee in a race?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Then you could probably learn quite easily." He said.

I grinned and stuck my and out. I had already seen how it was done and I knew how to control chakra so I tried. My chakra started to swirl then spun a bit out of control and was no longer visible as a sphere. Jiraya grinned.

"Well you got some of it down. All you need to do is keep it in a sphere shape."

I nodded. This was going to take some practicing. Then suddenly another thought popped into my head. I stopped and pulled the red book from my pouch. Naruto blinked.

"Don't tell me you are going to pull a Kakashi and read a book while you train." He whined.

"No I won't train while I read I want Jiraya to sign my book."

They all blinked. Then Sakura and Naruto gasped.

"Don't tell us that is 'Come Come Paradise'!" They yelled.

"Yes it is."

They stood gaping as Jiraya grinned.

"So you like it?" he asked.

"Yes. It is a good book, even if it is perverted."

He grinned even more and pulled out a pen, grabbing the book. He signed inside the cover and handed it back.

"I have the brand new one too if you are interested."

I grinned and nodded. Suddenly Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke. He waved at Jiraya.

"I heard you have a new book."

Jiraya grinned.

"Yes. I was just about to get one for Kagome, do you want one too?"

He nodded eagerly then suddenly stopped and blinked at me and the book in my hand. Then he smiled.

"You like them too? I knew I liked you."

I grinned. Naruto and Sakura had stopped gaping and were now looking just surprised. I grinned at them.

"Don't tell me you haven't read them." I said.

"Of course not." Sakura snorted. "Right Naruto?"

"Well….." Naruto said scratching the back of his head.

I grinned. I had seen the books in his room while cleaning.

"Naruto has the whole collection too." I said.

Now Kakashi and Jiraya grinned at him and Sakura gaped.

"Are you all perverted and mad?" She asked.

"Most surely." I said.

Sakura started to laugh now.

"Well I'll go get you each one of my new books. Better start to practice too Kagome if you want to learn the move."

Then he disappeared. We quickly pushed the mater of the book aside.

"So what did you talk to Tsunade about?" I asked Kakashi.

"She wants us to go on a mission tomorrow. She said Sasuke was spotted and we decided to go try and find him."

We all nodded and I smiled outwardly. I cursed inwardly though. If we found Sasuke my cover would be blown.

"We leave the day after tomorrow." Kakashi said.

I looked at the others. Naruto had an evil grin on his face and Sakura had a look that said I'm-going-to-kick-his-ass-and-drag-him-back. I smiled. They really did like Sasuke. Then Kakashi cleared his throat.

"And Sakura and I have an announcement to make."

Sakura smiled softly at him and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and he did the same pulling her close.

"She and I are dating."

Naruto's eyes looked ready to fall out and his jaw was lying on the ground. I giggled and clapped. Since I had first seen them together I could tell they liked one another. Naruto stood gaping for about ten minutes. I dragged him off as the two started talk. Then Kakashi pulled his mask off and I grinned. He was really handsome. Kakashi leaned over Sakura and I turned away giving them some privacy. Naruto was in a total daze from the shock. We left them standing by the trees and walked to the entrance of the Training grounds where we couldn't see them. I let Naruto stand there in the daze as I leaned against the wall and waited for Jiraya.

"Hey guys."

I turned too looked at Hinata, Neji, Ino, and Lee coming towards us. They stopped and smiled at me. Then Hinata walked up to Naruto who was still dazed. They all blinked at him. Hinata kissed him on the cheek but he still didn't respond.

"What is wrong with him?" Neji asked.

"And where is my cherry blossom of youth?" Lee asked looking around.

I giggled effectively drawing there attention to me.

"Ignore Naruto. He is just in shock."

"What shocked him?" Ino asked.

"Oh… he might have been shocked when Kakashi pulled his mask off and kissed Sakura."

They stood for a minute. Finally their brains comprehended what I had just said. They all gaped.

"You mean forehead girl is dating mask man?" Ino asked quietly.

I grinned and nodded.

"I have lost the battle over the cherry blossom of youth!" Lee said sinking to his knees.

Hinata was still gaping along with her cousin.

"What's going on?" Jiraya asked as he stepped from around the corner.

Naruto was slowly waking from his daze while the others were silent. He looked at them then back to me.

"Did I miss something?"

"Kakashi just kissed Sakura!" Naruto yelled, now fully out of his stupor.

Jiraya started to gap. I giggled. I saw Kakashi and Sakura walking over to us. Kakashi's mask was back on. Sakura was holding his arm and looking very pleased. As they stopped everyone stared gaping at them. Kakashi scratched the back of his head and Sakura raised an eyebrow. Finally Ino spoke up.

"I thought you liked Sasuke." She said.

I was listening closely.

"I used too. Then he left and I sent my feelings for him along with him." She said.

I sighed inwardly. No one to chase Sasuke and keep him busy meant he would still be busy chasing me. I smiled at Kakashi and Sakura. They smiled back. Slowly everyone moved off and started to train. Sakura tried to comfort Lee, who was crouched by the wall in a gloom. Jiraya gave Naruto, Kakashi, and I the books and then left. I tucked it in my pouch and started to try to practice the Rasengan. All day we trained. At sunset I was exhausted. I had used a lot of my chakra. I waved good bye and stumbled home. I drank some tea and had a small dinner. Then I had a quick shower before changing and crawling into bed. I sighed in content as I drifted off.

.--.

I woke up slowly and looked at my clock. It said it was noon. I blinked then smiled. I had slept in for the first time in three years. I yawned. I had needed the sleep. I had most of my chakra back. I pulled my self from bed and walked to the bathroom. I had a nice hot shower, then I walked to my kitchen. I made tea and threw together a big lunch. I hadn't ate much yesterday and hadn't had anything today and my stomach was saying it was really hungry. I ate a lot and then drank almost a whole pot of tea.

When I was full I sighed happily and decided to jog. I stood up and grabbed an I-pod from my room. I hooked it to my belt and flicked it on. Then I locked my door and ran out the door. I waved to the woman who had gave me directions and continued to jog. I didn't pay attention to the time, I just jogged, occasionally picking up the speed. I had my weights on but I was so used to them I didn't really notice the hundred pounds. It was lighter then my yellow back pack had been. I smiled and hummed along to the song.

While I jogged I also organized my thoughts and plans. I wasn't really paying attention. I was able to dodge people and obstacles and waved to those who waved. I don't know how long it had been but suddenly Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto were in front of me. I slowed down and stopped, also turning my I-pod off. I noticed I was back at my apartment. I thought that I couldn't have been jogging that long. The three looked at me closely.

"Are you okay Kagome?" They asked.

"Why?" I blinked.

"Well we thought you would be near exhaustion. The woman says you have ran past here to many times to count and that you have been running for about seven hours." Sakura said.

The woman waved to me again. I blinked.

"Seven hours?" I asked stupidly.

Naruto gaped.

"How long did you think you had been running for?" He asked.

"Only about an hour."

Kakashi chuckled and Naruto gaped. Sakura walked up to me and examined me with her medic abilities. She smiled after wards.

"Well you are very fit. You are barely breathing hard and you only have a little perspiration." She said.

"Are you wearing your weights?" Kakashi asked.

I nodded. Naruto gaped even more and Sakura raised an eyebrow. Then they all grinned.

"Well at least we have a strong team mate." Naruto laughed.

I felt a little bad. I wouldn't be their team mate soon. I would be their enemy

"We wanted to remind you that we have a mission tomorrow." Kakashi said.

"Yeah. So be at the front gates at nine." Naruto said.

Then Kakashi and Sakura walked off together. I noticed they were both headed for the same destination. I smiled and Naruto sighed. Then the two of us headed back into the apartment. I waved and headed to my room. I had had a good seven hour run. During that time the rest of my chakra had come back and I was ready for the mission. I walked into my room and opened my cupboard. I had once again skipped lunch. I made some dinner and tea. When it was ready I sat at the table and ate, while looking out the window at the last rays of light.

When the sun was gone I got up and cleaned up while packing everything I had brought. I doubted I would come back. I sighed and slipped into the shower. I had a quick shower before I hopped into bed. I easily fell into slumber.

.--.


	36. Betrayal Part 3 : Crossover

I woke with the dawn again. I didn't sleep in today. I yawned and sat up. I slowly got up and got dressed. Then I braided my hair. I grabbed my bag and set it by the door. Then I cleaned everything so it looked like I had never been there. Finally I packed some food into my bag. Then I ate some breakfast and had some more tea. I sighed as I drank my tea. I was drinking a lot of it lately. When I had finished my tea and breakfast I pulled out my red book. I started to read and let the time past by.

When it was eight fifty I stood up. I looked around once more then pulled my bag on my shoulder and locked the door. I walked out of the apartment and into the street. I once again saw the old woman. She waved and I waved back one last time. Then I walked off to the gate. When I reached it Sakura was already there. She looked ready. After about ten minutes Naruto came running up while apologizing for being late. Half an hour later Kakashi walked up. When he saw us ready he smiled once and headed out of the gate. As we walked down the road I cast one last glance back. I sighed then turned and followed the others.

.--.

For two days we travelled quickly. We didn't run into any problems and only had nice days of talking. No sign of Sasuke or anyone else. On the third day we got up again and headed off. We were close to Akatsuki's base; about a day away. I looked around warily. I had the feeling again, where it felt like something was going to happen. I blinked as I looked into the sky and saw a white familiar bird. I smiled and pulled out a note book. I started to write quickly. Sakura saw but shrugged as she saw I was writing in a diary.

_We're off to find Sasuke. Leave me until we find him. If we don't I'll grab Naruto and come back. But if we do find Sasuke leave, I'll grab Naruto afterwards. I did meet Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Kabuto on my way to Kohona too. I grabbed Orochimaru's Akatsuki ring. Till then._

When no one was looking I tore the page from my book. I rolled it up and motioned the clay bird down. It landed on my shoulder. I handed the note to it. It clutched it in its talons and took off. I soon lost sight of it. I caught up to the other three who were silent. They could feel the tension in the air too. I knew something was up. We walked until lunch in almost silence. Then suddenly we hit a clearing. We looked around. I felt a familiar presence coming towards us. We stopped and waited. Two minutes later Kabuto, Orochimaru, and Sasuke dropped down into the clearing. They looked at me then the Kohona ninja. I was behind the three. I winked to Sasuke and them. They smirked but didn't say anything about which organization I belonged too.

"Sasuke." Naruto said.

"Will you come back peacefully?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke snorted.

"For you to annoy me again, with your crush?"

Sakura glared.

"I'm over the crush. Besides I'm dating someone else."

"Yeah, who?" He asked.

"Kakashi."

Sasuke blinked then chuckled slightly. Everyone got into fighting positions.

"Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura. If you step aside we will not hurt you. We aren't interested in you. We're here for Kagome." Sasuke said.

The three blinked then looked back at me. I sighed slightly.

"How do you know Kagome?" Naruto asked.

"We met when she was on her way to Kohona." Sasuke said.

"Well she's our partner now. We won't step aside." Kakashi said.

The other three looked at one another then chuckled.

"Her, you're partner?" Orochimaru snickered.

"She will soon be a sound ninja and my wife." Sasuke said.

Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto gaped.

"You're wife?" Kakashi asked.

"I need to restore my clan and she is a very good choice to help me." He said.

I sighed.

"Besides she can't be a Kohona ninja." Kabuto said.

"Why?' Kakashi frowned.

"Because she is from Akatsuki." Orochimaru chuckled.

The three's eyes widened and they slowly turned to me. I sighed and rested my head in my hands like I was crying.

"Come on Sasuke, why did you have to tell? I was trying to keep it a secret." I whined.

"You're from Akatsuki?" Naruto whispered.

I nodded.

"No you can't be. Not you Kagome." He said.

"Naruto the personality I showed you was true. I just don't believe in some ideas. I could probably fit very well in Kohona but I couldn't leave my father at Akatsuki." I said.

"They have your father?" Sakura asked.

"He's not a prisoner. He's the leader."

Now everyone gaped at me, even Sasuke and his group.

"Pein, the leader of Akatsuki, is your father." Kabuto whispered.

I nodded. Orochimaru chuckled.

"I wonder what your father would give to have you back if I took you hostage." He said.

"We wouldn't let you take her, un." Someone said.

We all looked over as Deidara and Itachi stepped into the clearing. Sasuke glared at his older brother while clenching his hands. I jumped over the Kohona ninja to them.

"Hi Itachi, hi Deidara." I said cheerfully.

"We missed you, un." Deidara grinned.

I smiled.

"I missed you guys too." I said. "That was a smart idea sending the bird."

He nodded. I turned to the others. I clapped my hands.

"Now its three vs. three vs. three." I said.

Nobody moved but everyone was tense.

"Stay with us Kagome." Sakura said.

I shook my head and sighed.

"I really liked you guys but my place is with Akatsuki." I said.

She wilted.

"So you were a spy." Kakashi said.

I shook my head.

"No. I just came because I wanted to and because I wanted to meet Naruto."

I pulled my Kohona head band off and pulled a kuni free. I slashed it. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura winced. I tied it back on my arm.

"Now I'm a real missing nin." I smiled.

Deidara grinned and Itachi looked blank.

"Hidan, Tobi, Pein, and Sasori all miss you too, un. I don't know about the others though, they haven't said anything, just the four have said anything, un. But I'm guessing the others miss you too, un." Deidara said.

"Well I missed all of them so they had better have missed me." I said.

Deidara grinned. Then we turned back to the others. I pulled Deidara and Itachi close.

"I'm going for Naruto. I'll grab him and run. You distract the others. Got it?" I whispered.

They nodded and pulled out Kuni. They got ready and they looked deadly. The others seemed to see we meant business now. Deidara whipped out some clay and started to make bombs while Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan switched on. The others got ready. Itachi lunged for Sasuke and the sound while Deidara headed for the Kohona ninja. I smirked as I saw Kakashi stick close to Sakura. He would protect her and stay close to her leaving Naruto open for me. As soon as smoke spread out form Deidara's bombs I shot in. I nailed Naruto in the stomach. His eyes bulged.

"No fair I didn't get a chance to fight." He said once before he was unconscious.

I grabbed his body and slipped his head band over his eyes as a blind fold. Then I tied his arms behind his back. I smirked as I got another idea. I met Deidara's eyes. Then I tossed him Naruto. He grabbed him taking off.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed.

She started for the running Deidara. I jumped behind her and hit her pressure point. I grabbed her body and leapt off with one look at Itachi.

"Sakura!" Kakashi yelled coming after me.

I grinned it was like watching a replay. Itachi leaped behind the copy ninja and hit him into a tree. Then he followed me. I saw Sasuke growl and head for us. I saw Kabuto on the ground a wound in his stomach. Itachi caught up to me and we took off at top speed. Soon we left the others behind. As we caught up to Deidara awe turned right and headed for the main base. We ran for about four hours before I had to stop and tie Sakura's hands because she was waking. I also blind folded her and we continued.

I felt her wake up and sag against me. We traveled for another five hours before we reached the base. We slowed and dropped from the branches. One of us had spoken the entire time. We entered the base and I motioned the two to follow me. We headed off to my room where I dumped Sakura on my bed, and the now conscious Naruto on the floor.

"Deidara will you go get Pein for me"

"Sure, un." He said walking off.

"Why bring the girl?' Itachi asked.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out. Don't worry, you'll find out soon."

We waited for a few minutes before Deidara returned with a sleepy looking Pein. He blinked at the two prisoners.

"Two?" he asked. "I was expecting one."

"Well I have a plan. I will remove the fox from Naruto tomorrow."

"You know how?" He asked.

"Yes, I do."

He nodded slowly.

"I just wanted to show you that I'm back and we have two prisoners." I said.

He patted my on the back.

"Yes, welcome back."

Then he walked back out the door. With one last glance at me Deidara followed. Itachi stayed though. I pulled some Chakra draining tags from my bag and put them on both Sakura's and Naruto's arms. The tags glowed as they drained their chakra.

"You could just get Kisame and his sword to do that." Itachi said.

"Yes, but I really don't feel like having Kisame yell at me for waking him. If you hadn't noticed everyone is asleep."

"Nh."

Then he walked out of my room shutting the door behind him. I walked over to the two and pulled their blind folds off. They blinked and looked around. When their eyes met they sighed in relief. I unpacked quickly then sat on the edge of my bed. When the tags stopped glowing I pulled them off. Both of them had been drained of chakra. I wrapped a second tag around both their arms though. Naruto could summon the fox's chakra and Sakura had reserves. Then I slowly untied their arms. They rubbed where the rope had been.

"Do not leave my room. If you do you will be killed on sight by the others."

They nodded quickly. I walked to my closet and pulled out extra blankets. I put some on the floor for Naruto. I pointed and he lay down. I gave Sakura the bed. They both fell asleep relatively quickly. I smiled and sat in a chair. I yawned and fell into a light sleep.

.--.

I woke at dawn again and stood up. The two were still asleep so I left them and had a quick shower. When I came out I found Sakura awake. I pointed to the shower and she slowly stood up. She had a quick shower. By the time she got out Naruto had woke. I pulled them both after me through the halls. I sat them at the table in the kitchen. I started to make breakfast as they sat in silence.

"What are you going to do with us?" Sakura asked softly, breaking the silence.

"Take the fox from Naruto, then let you go alive."

They blinked at me.

"If you don't behave though, I'll have to kill you." I said.

They nodded quickly and sat still. I heard the explosion and looked at the clock. I smiled. It was just on time. Sakura and Naruto both jumped at the noise.

"Just ignore it." I said.

A minute later Kisame walked in. I gave him his coffee and he downed it. Then he sighed happily and looked up. He froze and blinked at Naruto and Sakura who were trying to be invisible.

"Who…" He started.

"My prisoners."

He slowly nodded and sat down. When Deidara and Itachi came they each sat on one side of the two. Everyone asked the same question. 'Who are they?' I answered each time. The oddest reaction was when Hidan walked in. He stared at the two. Then he had let out a string of curses before smirking and asking me if he could have them when I was done. They had both froze. I had told him no. Zetsu had also asked for the bodies. They had tensed but I had already protected them once so they guessed I would do it again. I did. When everyone was sitting and eating I studied them. I would need some helpers. I picked out Tobi, Sasori, Deidara, and Itachi. When breakfast was done they all followed me outside. I turned to them and cleared my throat.

"I'm going to take the fox from Naruto. I need everyone to stay back, except my helpers. Got it?'

"Hai." They all said.

"Now Itachi, and Sasori will hold on to Naruto."

The two dragged Naruto forwards and held him tightly between them so he couldn't move.

"You will have to hold tight because he will fight as I bring the demon out." I said.

They nodded.

"Now Deidara you will watch Sakura and stand here. She will need to be ready in case something goes wrong and Naruto needs medical help or if I need the medical attention."

Deidara and her nodded and stood where I pointed.

"And finally Tobi. You will stand ready. When I bring the fox from Naruto you will need to grab him."

Tobi clapped and also stood ready.

"But won't the fox be huge like normal?" Kakuzu asked.

"No. I will be leaving some of its power in Naruto for him to keep, and some will come directly to me to use. When demons have their power drained this way they usually shrink." I said.

They all nodded and got ready. Itachi and Sasori held Naruto tight. Naruto looked scared. Everyone stood in their places.

"Ready?' I asked.

They all nodded. I stepped in front of Naruto. I grinned and started to call my miko energy forwards. I need quite a bit to do what I was going to do so I called all my power forwards. I took a deep breath. My hair started to whip around me and my power radiated around me. I focused the power evenly through my body and started to chant. I had found out reciting spells made them more effective. Some of my power floated between my hands in what looked like the form of a chain. I looked up at Naruto and extended my hands. Two chains of miko power shot towards him. The entered his stomach on top of his seal. He gasped and jerked against the twos holds.

The two gripped him tighter. He started to pant and he cried out once in a while. I ignored it. I needed to focus. I felt my chains wrap around the fox in Naruto's body. I felt it fighting violently. Slowly he was dragged. I felt some of his power spread through Naruto and some ran up my chains into me I felt my power boost and my chains tugged harder on the fox. After a minute I saw an orange glow start to come out of Naruto. He screamed and jerked more violently. The two holding him slammed a foot on each of his feet to keep him from kicking out, while gripping his arms tighter. He thrashed even harder as the orange glow was pulled farther. As soon as the glow left him he slumped against his captors. They let him go with a nod from me. We all watched the glow start to take shape.

"Get ready Tobi." I said.

"Tobi is ready!" He said.

Suddenly in a flash the ball of orange turned it a nine tailed fox that was the size of a cat. It made a dart for the trees but Tobi tackled it. He cried out as it bit him. But he soon had it in his arms. I walked over to him and grabbed the fox under its arms holding it up. It growled softly at me. I smiled at it. Then I turned to the others.

"Cute hey?' I asked.

"That's the fox demon, un?" Deidara asked.

I nodded. They laughed.

"I told you it would shrink."

"Will Naruto be okay?" Sakura asked quietly.

I nodded. Suddenly Naruto sat up. He blinked at the fox then scowled at it.

"I always hated it." He said.

I smiled.

"Well he's mine now."

Naruto nodded.

"So it all worked fine?" Pein asked.

I nodded.

"So you needed the girl in case something went wrong." Kakuzu asked.

"Yes. Your small medical abilities probably wouldn't have been enough and if Naruto had really fought us. I could always have used her as a bargaining chip too if needed." I said.

Itachi walked up to me and leaned down.

"Do you want me to take them back to the copy ninja? Or kill them?" He asked.

"Take them back and don't hurt any of them."

He grabbed Sakura's shoulder and then grabbed Naruto's shoulder. He flickered away with the two. When he returned he smirked. The fox had stopped growling and was studying me.

"If you behave I won't hurt you." I said quietly to it."

It tilted its head and looked at me.

"If you aren't good I will give you to Zetsu to eat of Hidan to sacrifice."

The fox shivered.

"You are very cute. And you were quite strong." I said to it.

It perked up and looked proud and then let out a sigh. It cuddled into my arms and I stroked it.

"So are you going to keep it or shall we get rid of it?" Pein asked.

The fox glared at him and snuggled deeper into my arms as if saying 'I'm hers and you can't touch me'. I stroked him again.

"I'll keep him. He is a very cute fox."

The others just watched. Finally Tobi skipped up. He reached out to touch the fox but he growled. Tobi made a pouting noise.

"No fair. Tobi is a good boy." He said.

"He just doesn't like you, un." Deidara said,

He stepped up to but the fox still growled at him. The fox sat up in my arms and looked everyone over. He glared at everyone except Konan, Sasori, and Itachi. He just looked blankly at Konan and Sasori as if saying he would tolerate them. Then he nodded to Itachi as if saying he liked him. Then the fox jumped to my shoulder. He curled around my neck and let his tails droop against my back and my chest. He closed his eyes and seemed to sleep. I smiled and nuzzled him slightly. Everyone just watched.

"You said you come from a land of demons right?" Zetsu asked.

I nodded.

"Well I looked through some papers, and talked to my spies. There are no demons anywhere in the world except for the ones here in the humans. Where did you really come from?" He asked.

I tensed. I slowly looked at them. Itachi and Pein sighed. I winced. Finally I sighed and we all walked back inside. I sat everyone in the kitchen and got straight to the point. I told them everything in about two hour.

"So you live in a different world and travelled to the past?" Konan asked.

I nodded.

"But the well won't let me back through. So I'm stuck with you guys." I smiled.

Everyone watched me a moment, then walked off. The fox had listened to my whole story to. He cuddled against my neck as if trying to cheer me up. I smiled and nuzzled him back. Then I stood up and looked at Pein who had stayed.

"I'm going to town. I'm taking the fox with me."

He blinked. Then he frowned.

"People won't stay quiet about a nine tailed fox." He said.

"I'll cast a barrier with my miko powers around him. It's called an illusion barrier and will hide his tails."

My father slowly nodded. I smiled and picked my fox up. I headed for the door and hummed. My fox curled around my neck and nuzzled my cheek. I could tell he was warming up to me. I smiled and walked out the door. Once I was outside I quickly flickered to the next clearing near the town. I cast the barrier around my fox and walked into town. It was a little after noon so the place was busy. I forced my way through a crowd to the pet store. As soon as I walked in the fox looked up and sniffed around. The cashier was a teen girl. She looked up at me and squealed. I winced. She ran over to us and stroked the fox.

"I've seen a lot of people with odd pets but I haven't seen anyone with such a handsome fox."

My fox smiled and let her pet him. I smirked. This was the fox that had nearly killed Kohona and made a small boy shunned by the whole village, and it was cuddling up to me and another girl. After a minute the girl had to help a customer and the fox and I slipped to the isle we needed. I set the fox on the ground and looked through some collars. He sat beside me and washed a paw. He was almost like a cat. I picked out a black collar and slipped it on him. He eyed it then sighed. I also added miko powers to the collar so I could always tell where the fox was, know if he was in trouble, and so the fox couldn't chew it off. Then I grabbed some food and water bowls, a bed, a couple toys, and some food he pointed out.

I paid quickly and we walked out the door. The crowd was still thick so he jumped back up to my neck. He once again curled around it. I smiled at him and headed for the clearing. When I reached it I removed the barrier around him and flickered back to the main base. I walked back in quickly and straight to my room. I set all my stuff in my room and let the fox look around. When he scratched at the door I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You can look around the rest of the base but don't go near Hidan or Zetsu."

He nodded and I opened the door. He trotted off and I sighed. Then I set off to the living room. I found Itachi, Sasori, and Tobi there. Tobi was reading some manga and the other two were reading the little red-orange books. I sat beside Itachi and pulled the newest volume from my pocket where it had been. Itachi blinked then smirked slightly. I read my book while they read theirs. Suddenly I felt the collar on my fox flare. I stood up quickly slipping the small book back into my pocket. I quickly walked off down the hall. I found my fox in the hands of Hidan. He was smirking at the fox, which was growling and trying to bite him. Hidan was holding him by the scruff of the neck in front of him. When he spotted me he grinned. The fox calmed a bit.

"Let him go Hidan." I said.

"What do I get if I do?" He asked.

"It's not a negotiation. You let him go or I'll make you."

"But if you try to make me I could easily kill him before you could reach me."

I scowled while he grinned.

"Fine, what do you want?" I asked.

"A kiss."

I gaped at him.

"A what?"

"A kiss."

"Only on the cheek." I said.

He shrugged. I watched him warily as I walked up to him. I leaned up. My lips were a millimetre away from his cheek when he spun. I gasped as he dropped my fox grabbing my waist in one hand and the back of my neck in another. His lips fell on mine and I gasped. He slipped his tongue. He pushed me against the wall and pushed up against me. I tried to push away I realized he had me trapped. When he ran out of breath he broke the kiss. He put his face close to my neck and kissed it. I wiggled and glared at him but to no use. Then he grinned and let me go walking away down the hall. I was very tempted to go beat him, with something hard. My fox leaned against my leg and growled after the man. I took five deep breathes and clenched and un-clenched my hands to calm down. When I finally felt calm enough that I wouldn't scream I sighed.

"Is that the first time someone has kissed you?" Someone asked.

I looked over my shoulder at Itachi. He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, wearing a small smirk. I scowled at him once.

"No. That was my third time. First with Inuyasha, and second when your brother, Sasuke, kissed me."

An emotion I didn't catch flashed through Itachi's eyes.

"I pity you. Being kissed my brother must have been devastating." He said with fake sympathy.

"It was." I said.

He smirked slightly and walked off. I looked at my watch and then sighed. I walked off to the kitchen. I started to make dinner and everyone soon joined me in the kitchen. As Hidan walked in I stuck a foot out. He tripped and stumbled almost hitting the table. He just grinned at me and winked. I glared at him and set the table. Everyone talked while they ate and I was soon caught up in conversation. When everyone was finished I quickly cleaned up and walked to my room with my fox. I changed before hopping into bed. My fox curled up beside me on the bed. I looked down at him and scratched hi ear.

"What should I name you?" I asked.

He opened and eye and started to pay attention to me.

"Do you like Kyuubi?" I asked.

He looked at me a moment then nodded.

"Kyuubi it is." I yawned.

He sniffed and closed his eye. I sighed and laid down quickly falling asleep.

.--.

I woke to a wet nose on my cheek. I blinked and looked up at Kyuubi. He sniffed and licked my cheek. I smiled and scratched his ear. He looked at me closely then to the jewel still around my neck. I blinked and sat up. The jewel was glowing more then usual. I stood up and quickly got dressed. I walked to the kitchen and started to make breakfast. Kyuubi sat on my shoulder watching. When the explosion rang out breakfast was ready. Everyone soon joined me and stared to eat. I had already eaten and just leaned against the counter. I examined the jewel. It was acting up. Its glow would suddenly increase or decrease. I scowled as I felt some power drain from me. I wondered what was taking it. I looked around. Everything appeared normal. Suddenly pain shot through my body. I cried out and fell to the floor. Everyone froze and looked at me.

The pain vanished only to appear again two seconds later even stronger. I screamed as it ripped through me. Pein was up in a second beside me. I was on my knees and holding my head in my hands. Most of the pain was focused in my head. I felt some of my power still draining. Kyuubi was growling softly in concern but I didn't notice. I screamed again at the pain. I didn't notice anything as the pain started to numb me. I felt a bit 'fuzzy'. When I looked up everything was blurred. I blinked trying to see clearly. Pain still lanced through me making me cry out once in a while. Suddenly I heard a familiar voice.

'Kagome."

'Sesshomaru?' I asked.

'Yes it is me. I need you to come back through the well.'

'I can't its closed.'

'It has opened again. I saw the blue light mixed with red shoot out from it.'

'What about this pain?'

'The well is taking some of your power to open it permanently but it is a painful process.'

'How am I talking to you?'

'I got a sorceress to contact you through our minds.'

'Oh.'

'Come quickly.'

'Okay I'll come.'

'Good.' His voice faded.

I suddenly the pain vanished. I blinked as I saw the roof. I realized I was lying on the floor, on my back, spread out. Everyone was gathered around. I saw Pein sitting beside me looking concerned. I blinked once and sat up. Kyuubi was sitting on my lap growling at everyone.

"What happened, un?" Deidara asked.

"The well is open. I must go." I said.

They all blinked.

"The well?" Pein asked.

"Yes. I must go see Sesshomaru."

"We won't ask how because I'm guessing you won't tell us." Pein sighed.

I nodded.

"Fine. You may go. But take Itachi, Deidara, Hidan, and Sasori with you."

The ones named nodded and stepped forwards. I slowly nodded.

"Pack now. We have to leave immediately. We may be gone for a long time." I said.

My voice sounded far away. They nodded and walked off. I jumped up grabbing Kyuubi.

"I'll explain when we get back." I said before running to my room.

I grabbed my backpack and chucked in my medical kit, soldier pills, weapons, and clothes. Then I rushed back out. Kyuubi had smartly wrapped around my neck so I didn't leave him. I met Deidara, Hidan, Sasori, and Itachi by the front door. As we ran out I waved to the others. We quickly ran to the well.

"Listen, no mater what you will stay by me and do not attack unless I say, even if you are attacked. Now stay right beside me."

"Hai." They chorused.

I pushed Deidara and Sasori over the edge. They disappeared in a glow of red and blue swirled together. Then I pushed the next two in, before jumping in myself.

Itachi's POV:

Kagome pushed us in the well. I waited to hit ground but instead felt like I was falling through water of red and blue. Suddenly I touched down softly. Hidan and I jumped out of the well and landed beside Sasori and Deidara who were looking around. We were in a large clearing with tall grass surrounded by trees. Suddenly the glow flashed again and Kagome jumped out she took off jogging.

"Hurry we can sight-see later."

We all nodded and easily caught up to her. We followed her for about five minutes when we burst from the trees onto a dirt trail. We looked down a hill at an old village. We saw people who looked like they were working. Kagome rushed down the hill without hesitation while we starred a moment before following. She ran to the first large hut by a set of shrine stairs. An old woman wearing an old miko outfit stepped out.

"Kagome yea are back."

"Yes Milo but I just came to change.

"Okay."

Kagome ran into the place. We went to follow but the woman stopped us.

"She is changing."

We all sighed and waited. A minute later Kagome came out with her hair pulled back and wearing red hakamas, a black kimono like top, and small black slipper like shoes. She also had a bow and quiver of arrows strapped on. The fox was still on her shoulder. Then she kissed the old woman on the cheek and started to run.

"Thank you Milo."

"Bye child." The woman waved.

We all quickly ran after her. We all noticed that when she passed all the villagers bowed and whispered 'Lady Kagome' respectfully.

"You're a lady?" Sasori asked.

"No, but I was am reincarnation of their priestess and I saved them so they call me by that title." Kagome said.

We nodded.

"So where are we going, un?" Deidara asked.

"First I need to grab someone then we'll go see Sesshomaru." She said.

We nodded and fell silent. We observed everything as we shot by. For about two hours we ran at a fast pace. Suddenly Kagome stopped. She unhooked her bow and drew an arrow. We all got ready as she did. Then suddenly out of the trees came a huge panther. He was standing on two feet like us and had a samurai outfit on but instead of a sword he had a mace. He snarled at us. The fox was growling at him and all his fur was on end.

"Give me the jewel petty mortals." The panther boomed.

Kagome snorted and let her arrow fly. I saw her power infuse with it and light up pink. As it hit the demon it turned to dust. The panther screamed once then was purified. Kagome started to run again. We blinked and followed her.

"Ignore it." Kagome said. "We will see more."

At noon we rounded a hill and slowed. There was a large village at the foot of it. It was burning. We winced as we heard screams. We could see men riding horses and laughing while cutting everyone down. They cut down everyone, the children, old women, and defenceless. They didn't kill the young women though. They were thrown together. Kagome snarled.

"I hate bandits."

"That is sick, un. We kill, but not for no reason and we don't rape people and we don't burn everything un." Deidara said.

We all nodded in agreement. Kagome drew her bow and fired. It hit a bandit in the chest. She put her bow away and drew her scythe from her scroll.

"You can wait here if you want." She said.

She lunged into the burning village hacking at the bandits. We all lunged in too, wielding kuni. We all split and killed the bandits too. In ten minutes the last had died. Kagome had some how put the flames out with her miko powers and was talking to the survivors. Then when they were comforted she grabbed five of the bandit's horses, which had stayed close. I sighed slightly. I hated horses. She handed the reins to us.

"Get on. We need to save our energy. We can't spend it all on running."

We all let out sighs and swung on. Luckily we all knew at least how to sit on a horse. Kagome's fox had latched to her neck and she pet him once before kicking the horse. We all barrelled after her. We rode for an hour along a dirt trail before Kagome suddenly turned into a forest. We jumped logs and dodged branches for a couple minutes. Then we broke into a clearing. Kagome stopped and slid off her horse. She tied the reins to a tree. We all did the same. It was a nice clearing with a cave. Kagome walked to the cave.

"Hello?" She called.

"Kagome!" Someone yelled diving into her.

We all blinked at the little boy who was latched onto Kagome. He had bright orange hair pulled into a mess ponytail at the back He wore a blue and yellow outfit. We all blinked as we saw a fox tail, and fox feet. He was about the size of Kagome's fox. He was blubbering.

"Shippo it is so good to see you."

The boy finally shut up and looked at us.

"Who are you?" He asked sniffing.

"These are my friends Shippo."

"Oh."

"Where is Kila? You're step mom?" She asked.

The boy sniffled and wilted.

"A stronger demon killed her."

Kagome hugged him.

"It's okay." She said.

"Can I stay with you?" He asked.

Kagome nodded.

"Yes. We are off to see Sesshomaru."

"I'm sorry that Inuyasha betrayed you. I wish I was stronger so I could have beaten him up." The boy said.

My mouth twitched in amusement as the boy tried to act brave.

"Well we must go. Go grab you tricks." She said.

The boy nodded and scurried back into the cave. He came back out a minute later stuffing a toy snake and some leaves into his shirt. He smiled up at us.

"Hello my name is Shippo. I'm a Kitsune." He said grinning.

I looked down at him blankly. Sasori looked bored, Deidara looked curious, and Hidan looked annoyed.

"We have to fucking baby-sit now?" He asked.

The boy scowled and pulled a top from his shirt. I wondered what he was going to do with it. He jumped back letting it spin. It headed straight for Hidan. Hidan laughed but stopped as the top grew about a hundreds time bigger. It hit him hard sending him flying into a tree. Now Shippo laughed. Kagome grinned.

"Ow! That hurt you fucking brat!" Hidan yelled.

"It couldn't have hurt that much Hidan, it was an illusion. And don't swear in front of children." Kagome said.

"How old are you, un?" Deidara asked the boy.

Shippo grinned.

"I'm seventy! I'm going to have a growth spurt soon!"

We all gaped except Kagome. He was seventy. That was more then twice as old as me, yet he was still considered a child.

"That means Shippo is the oldest. He's in charge." Kagome giggled.

I raised and eyebrow. Then Shippo looked back at her. He looked at the fox on her neck.

"What is that demon?' He asked.

"This is Kyuubi. He's a kitsune too."

"Hello Kyuubi." The boy said.

The fox sniffed at him then curled back up. Shippo shrugged. Kagome walked to her horse and untied the reins, before jumping on. Shippo jumped on too, landing in front of her. We all followed suit. When Kagome saw us ready she kicked her horse on. We sped across the ground going pretty fast. We travelled till sunset. When we reached a small village, we gave them the horses. Then we walked off. Then we had found a small clearing near some hot springs.

Kagome had started a fire and the boy and fox had caught some fish. Kagome had started to cook them. As they cook Kagome had run off to the spring with the two foxes. We all sat on the forest floor talking quietly or reading. Suddenly Kagome walked back into the clearing. The two foxes sat on each shoulder. Kagome smiled at us. She sat by the fire and pulled the fish handing it out to each of us. We ate quickly. Then the four of us stood and headed for the spring. We all were silent as we reached it. We quickly stripped and jumped in. It was nice. The steam rose almost covering the whole spring. I sat on a rock shelf and leaned back. The others did the same. I closed my eyes and just relaxed.

"So Itachi do you like Kagome, un?"

I opened one eye and looked at Deidara.

"Do you mean love?" I asked.

"Yeah, un."

"No." I said.

"How about you guys, un."

No one answered. I looked at them. Hidan had a grin on and was deep in thought. Sasori looked bored. When no one answered Deidara sighed and sank deeper into the water. After a while I stood up and dried off before getting dressed and heading back to camp. As I enter the clearing a barrier opened up for me but closed as soon as I was in. I found Kagome asleep under a tree. The fox child was curled up against her, along with Kyuubi. They had a green travelling cloak draped across them. I smiled slightly. Then I walked to a different tree and slid down the trunk. I laid my head back and took even breathes falling into sleep.

.--.

I woke a little after sunrise. Kagome already had some more fish on the fire. The others were still asleep. I sat up and Kagome smiled at me. The two foxes where tucked into her cloak still asleep too. I just stayed sitting as Kagome finished the fish. When it was done she ate some and handed me some. Then she woke the foxes and gave each of them. Then she finally woke the other guys and handed them some. When everyone was finished we set off we went at a slower pace today, walking and occasionally running. The fox talked non-stop. Kagome also chatted but not nearly as much.

At about noon we fell from the trees onto a large path. Kagome shifted a bit more uncomfortably. As we kept walking I noticed the area started to look less dangerous. About mid-afternoon we walked from the trees and stopped in our tracks, gaping, except Kagome. In front of us were large stone walls at least as large as the walls of Kohona. Behind them a huge castle was on a hill. The surrounding landscapes were mountains. On the walls we saw demon guards walking and patrolling. In front of the gate were guards too. My first impression of demons was that they weren't as smart or civilized as humans but I was completely wrong. Kagome walked up to the gate and we quickly followed. The guards saw us and crossed lances blocking the way.

"May we help you?" They asked.

"My name is Kagome. I'm here to see Sesshomaru." Kagome said blankly.

Suddenly the lances were pulled aside and the two guards did hasty bows.

"We're sorry we did not recognize you milady." They chorused.

"That is fine."

"Are these men with you?" They asked.

"Yes. They are no threat to the west, only its enemies." Kagome smiled slightly.

The guards nodded and stepped to the side. We all followed Kagome quickly. As we stepped in are breath was taken away. There was the large beautiful castle but we stood outside of it. We were in a large stone courtyard surrounded by the brightest, most beautiful flowers I had ever seen. There were people walking around like serving demons, guards and soldiers. Suddenly a toad like thing in a brown outfit, with a staff with two heads, came running towards us. He looked a little annoyed.

"What took you so long wench!?" He yelled at Kagome.

Most people we had seen so far had given Kagome outright respect but the imp seemed to dislike Kagome.

"My Lord is kind enough to invite a human like yourself and you show up late!" He yelled.

The imp seemed to hate humans by the tone of his voice too.

"And then you bring more humans." He growled.

"Nice to see you to Jaken-kun." Kagome laughed.

"I told you not to add –kun. It's master Jaken to you!"

He tried to hit her with his staff but she effortlessly evaded.

"Ha! You missed. Come on hit me with all you have." She laughed.

The imp, Jaken, tapped his staff on the ground.

"Staff of two heads!" He yelled.

Suddenly the head of the old man's eyes opened and he opened his mouth spewing fire at Kagome. We all jumped away too. Suddenly I saw a girl running for the imp. She wore an orange and white kimono and deep brown hair. She looked to be thirteen. She was grinning like mad and seemed human. Jaken stopped shooting fire and just swung his staff around. Suddenly the girl ran up behind him. She grabbed the top of the staff and pulled it from the imps grasp.

"Wha…" He started

Then the girl swung the staff like a baseball bat. She nailed the imp in the gut as he turned, cutting him off. He flew about twenty feet before smashing into the wall.

"Do you like flying master Jaken?" The girl giggled.

The imp stood up running at her.

"You impudent child!" He yelled.

The girl giggled and ran away from the imp. She ran at me then ducked behind me. She latched to my cloak and stuck her tongue out at the imp. The imp stopped and scowled while the others all froze and backed away. The imp saw them backing away from me with nervous looks. Jaken looked into my eyes and stepped back a step when he met my eyes. Kagome sent me a look that said kill-the-girl-and-you-will-die. I sent her an understanding look and looked down at the girl who was looking up at my face.

"Rin, come here." Jaken whispered.

I looked back at the girl named Rin. Everyone was silent waiting for the girl to move or for me to kill her. The girl just kept looking at me.

"Rin come here please." A soft voice said.

I looked at Kagome and blinked. I didn't know she could sound so kind and soft. Her eyes held kindness and caring. Rin smiled and skipped over to her. Rin stopped and smiled at her. Kagome set Shippo on the ground.

"Why don't you show Shippo and Kyuubi around Rin?" She asked softly.

"Okay." The girl sang. "Come on Shippo and Kyuubi."

Shippo, Kyuubi, and the girl ran off down a garden path. Jaken ran after them yelling about damn babysitting. When they were gone Kagome motioned us to follow her. We all followed her silently into the castle. The castle was huge. The hallways were wide enough to fit three people with their arms outstretched. The rooms we saw were also large. As we walked serving men and women all bowed to Kagome then scurried away. Finally we stopped in front of a large door. Kagome took a deep breathe and knocked.

"Come in." a cold voice said.

Kagome opened the door and we all stepped into a large study. There were shelves and tables everywhere. At the far end was a large desk stacked with papers. In a seat in front of it was a tall man with long silver hair that fell to his waist. He wore a white outfit with red shocks of color. It was tied with a yellow and blue sash. There was also a large white fluffy boa-like thing. I thought he was a human until he turned towards us. The man had pointy ears and two purple stripes on his cheeks. He also had a crescent moon on his forehead. I saw sharp claws and small fangs. His eyes were gold and amber and looked even colder then mine. Kagome bowed and we did the same.

"Lord Sesshomaru, you summoned me."

"Yes I did Kagome. I see you brought others." He said looking us over.

The others all looked away as his eyes, met theirs but I held my ground and met him gaze for gaze. He watched me a moment. Then he smirked slightly.

"These are ninja of the other dimension through the well. This is Deidara. He is a bomb master. This is Hidan he is almost immortal, a religious man, and a master of a scythe. Sasori is a puppet master and almost a puppet himself. And this is Itachi. He is a sharingan master. He is the strongest." Kagome said.

"Nh."

We stood in silence a moment. Then Sesshomaru stood up. I know saw he had two swords at his waist.

"Follow me." He said.

Kagome bobbed her head and we all followed him into the hall. When we passed this time the people bowed to him and stayed bowing till we were out of the way. We stopped in front of a smaller door and walked in. There were large couch like things covered in cushions. He motioned us to sit. We watched Kagome. She waited till Sesshomaru was sitting before doing the same. We followed her example. Suddenly a serving demon came in.

"Bring us something to drink." Sesshomaru ordered.

"Hai milord."

The woman rushed out and returned a moment later. She gave us all glasses and poured us water. We thanked her and drank. After a moment Sesshomaru looked to the serving girl who had taken up post at the door.

"Call our guest. Tell him to wait outside the door till I call him."

"Hai."

The woman vanished out the door again.

"Sesshomaru-sama may I ask why you called me?" Kagome asked.

Sesshomaru looked at her.

"You do not need to be so formal sister." He smiled slightly.

We all gaped slightly. 'Sister?' Kagome smiled slightly.

"He adopted me as his sister." She explained.

He looked over at us and the others tensed.

"There is no reason to have any fear." He said.

"Who said we were afraid, un?" Deidara asked boldly.

"Demons can smell emotion. They can smell fear, joy, sadness, and so on." Kagome explained.

"Handy." I said.

The others jumped at my voice and scooted away at the drop of sarcasm in it. Sesshomaru watched them a moment.

"They are afraid of you." He said to me.

"He already knows." Sasori said.

"Anyone in their right mind would be afraid of him, un." Deidara said.

"He's the most dangerous ninja criminal alive in our world." Kagome said.

Sesshomaru looked at me.

"Interesting company you keep." He said to Kagome.

"Not more interesting then usual." Kagome said.

"So are you strong?" Hidan asked.

Sesshomaru smirked evilly making some of the others shiver.

"He is one of the four demon lords and he is probably the strongest making him the strongest demon alive. He could kill all of you with one arm." Kagome muttered.

I smirked and the others shivered again.

"He does only have one arm." I said.

Everyone blinked.

"The other one got loped off." Kagome said.

"How, un?" Deidara asked curiously.

"My brother did that." Sesshomaru said.

"Wow, more like Itachi every second." Hidan said. "Both of you are cold, strong, evil, and have brothers who want you dead."

"And they're both hot." Kagome grinned.

The others raised eyebrows. Sesshomaru glanced at Kagome.

"You have a brother complex too?" He asked me.

"Well I killed my family but left him alive. He wants to kill me now." I said blandly.

"Our father died saving my brother's mother and my brother thinks I'm out to kill him. I'm not though I would just like to have the sword he got from our father. I guess I would kill him if I had the chance." Sesshomaru said.

"But he's already dead. I beat Sesshomaru to him." Kagome said seriously.

"That is actually the reason I called you here Kagome." Sesshomaru said.

Kagome blinked.

"You remember the witch Urasue who brought Kikyo to life?" He asked.

Kagome nodded.

"Well she had two apprentices. You guys met one, years ago but the second one brought Miroku, Sango, Inuyasha, and Kikyo."

Kagome started to stutter.

"What?" I asked for her.

"The witch had the power to raise the dead. She was even better then her master and gave them real bodies not clay ones." He said. "She is probably the best necromancer alive. Well dead now. I took care of her personally. But Inuyasha, Sango, and Kikyo got away."

"What about Miroku?" Kagome asked quietly.

Sesshomaru looked to the door and nodded to the girl who I hadn't seen return. She opened the door and a man walked in. He wore blue and black monk robes and held a staff in one hand. He had black haired pulled into a tiny ponytail. He had mirth filled dark eyes and a handsome face. He smiled brightly. I blinked as a blur passed us. Suddenly the monk was flat on the floor and Kagome was on him, her arms around him tight. She was almost strangling him while crying into his chest. I hadn't seen her show so much emotion before.

"Miroku … I was so sad…when…you died. I'm so…. Sorry… I couldn't….save you." She said between sobs.

The others were also a bit surprised at her display of emotion.

"It's okay Kagome. I know you tried your hardest to save me."

"I'm sorry that….Sango….killed you." She said into his chest.

His eyes hardened.

"It was my mistake trusting her so much when she was a bit insane."

"So you're wife-to-be killed you, un?" Deidara asked.

Miroku looked at us. He looked us all over before nodding.

"What a wonderful wedding present." Hidan said sarcastically.

Kagome had stopped sobbing but was still clinging to Miroku as they stood up.

"Sesshomaru explained everything to me and even saved me when Inuyasha and them tried to kill me a second time." Miroku said.

Kagome nodded.

"I smelled them all immediately because I had been on the look out ever since I had found Miroku's grave dug up." Sesshomaru said. "Well I smelled them immediately and set off. It seemed the witch wanted them to be a group of her warriors, but you were all made so perfect you even got your memories and emotions and real bodies so they aren't clay pots. Sango tried to kill him again and since Inuyasha and Kikyo were on her side they helped. I arrived in time to kill the witch, grab a slightly injured monk and bring him back before he died of his injuries. I wanted to fight the three but I knew you would snap at me if I ever let your last friend die second time."

"Thank you, brother." Kagome said giving the demon lord a hug.

Then she quickly introduced us to Miroku. She still held onto one of his arms as if afraid he would vanish. He stood close to her and smiled down at her. I saw his hand slowly slide to her ass. Suddenly she spun to him her hand lashing out. It connected to the side of his face easily.

"HENTAI!" She yelled.

Sesshomaru seemed unfazed but everyone else was watching with amusement and surprise.

"At least I know it is really you." Kagome grumbled.

"It's this cursed hand." Miroku said while trying to strangle his arm.

Everyone raised an eyebrow. Then Miroku turned to Deidara.

"Are you a woman?" He asked.

Hidan and Kagome burst out laughing, Sasori grinned and my mouth twitched, while Deidara glared at the monk.

"No, un." He said.

"Too bad. You would make a beautiful woman." Miroku sighed.

This caused more laughter. Sasori also had to hold Deidara from lunging at the man.

"Lord Sesshomaru." Some one called.

Everyone looked up and watched as Rin and Shippo came bounding in with Kyuubi. Jaken came running in a second later. He ran right up to Sesshomaru who stood up.

"I'm sorry lord Sesshomaru but they insisted on coming to see you." He said.

He kneeled and bowed, almost kissing the floor. Sesshomaru ignored him and stepped to Rin stepping on Jaken in the process. He squawked causing everyone to grin. Rin skipped to Sesshomaru and hugged his waist while looking into his eyes.

"This is Kyuubi and Shippo. Can we go with A-un and Jaken and go see the field of flowers?" She asked.

She gave him puppy eyes. The ninja's expected the cold lord to say no and pry her off of him but instead he gave her a small smile and nodded. Then Rin grabbed Jaken and they all skipped out.

"Even the stoic lord Sesshomaru has a weakness." Kagome smiled.

Sesshomaru sent her a sharp look.

"So the only person he likes in the child?" I asked.

Kagome nodded. Sesshomaru shot her another look.

"You may stay here for the night. I called you here so you could hunt down Inuyasha and his two women companions. We will all leave in the morning. Kagome will take you to the guest rooms."

Then he was gone. We all looked to Kagome.

"Well I'll show you the guest rooms."

We all followed her into the hall. As we walked they kept silent. Even though the monk had grabbed her ass she still held his arm. 'She hadn't wanted him to die and now that he's back she's not going to let go.' I thought. Suddenly we turned into a hall with a couple doors. Kagome opened the first and pointed to Deidara and Sasori. Then she pointed Hidan and I to another. Then she opened the last.

"I'll stay with you." Miroku said smiling.

Kagome gave him a suspicious look but then nodded. Then she saw a woman walking past the hall.

"Kagura!" She squealed.

The demon popped back into view.

"Kagome!" She squealed too.

The two were in front of one another in a flash.

"How are you and what are you doing with so many hot guys?" Kagura asked.

"Traveling, getting revenge, training; the usual things." Kagome said.

Kagura nodded.

"So you came to work for Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked.

"Yes. Do you want to train with us?"

"Us?" Kagome asked.

"Kanna will be here too." Kagura said.

"I'm right here." A voice behind us said.

We all spun to face a small albino child holding a mirror. She looked at us with clear eyes.

"Hello."

Her voice sounded like a ghosts.

"This is Kagura a wind sorceress. And this is Kanna of the mirror." Kagome said. "And these are my comrades. They're ninja." Kagome said.

"Nice to meet you." Kagura said.

She snapped a fan open and started to fan herself. Kanna looked at us closely.

"All their souls are at least slightly tainted. None of them are pure or innocent. They are dangerous." She said in her empty ghostly voice.

We all burst out laughing except Kagura, Kanna, and Miroku. I also just chuckled slightly. The other three looked slightly confused.

"Them pure!?" Kagome asked between laughter.

When we were finally under control Kagome smiled.

"They are the most dangerous criminals in the other dimension." Kagome said.

Kagura, Kanna, and Miroku all looked at us a moment.

"So you joined their criminal organization?" Kagura asked.

Kagome nodded.

"You are still pure, miko." Kanna said to Kagome.

"Call me Kagome, Kanna." She said.

"Okay Kagome." The child said.

"So you are a demon, un?" Deidara asked the child.

"I was born of the flesh of a demon." She nodded.

"What does the mirror do?" Sasori asked.

"It shows all." Kanna said.

Kagome looked as if she just realized something.

"Can I see Inuyasha?" She asked.

The albino child nodded. She turned the mirror slightly and it shone a moment. Then suddenly we saw the picture of a man with silver hair, white dog ears, a red outfit, and amber eyes. He had the blood of a low demon on his claws and he was laughing. Kagome just watched a moment. Then she sighed and looked away. The mirror changed and was a regular mirror.

"I will come with you if you wish and capture his soul." The child said.

"No I will kill him." Kagome said

"What do you mean capture his soul?" Hidan asked.

"She can suck the soul out of a person with her mirror." Kagura said. "Then I can take over the soulless body."

She gave an evil smirk. Then Kanna held the mirror out to Kagome.

"For you. You freed us. This is my gift to you." The child said.

"Thank you." Kagome said solemnly.

Then the three girls walked away leaving us alone.

"Now what, un?" Deidara asked.

"Well you could sit in the beautiful gardens, listen to the birds and recite poetry." The monk said.

We starred at him a moment.

"No… okay then, you could look around. There are a lot of a lot of strong soldiers to train or spar with." He said.

"Would you spar with me?" I asked.

I wanted to test Kagome's close friend. He blinked and nodded. Suddenly a serving girl walked up to us.

"Lord Sesshomaru said you may all do as you wish." She said.

We all nodded. She was going to walk off but just before she left we all saw the monks hand wander. We heard the slap and saw a huge red hand on his face. He just sighed happily.

"It was worth it."

Deidara grinned with Hidan. Miroku just grinned back and motioned us to follow him. He walked along in silence down the halls. Suddenly he stopped and stepped out a door. We saw a large stone courtyard. It was taken up by demons in armour carrying weapons.

"Ah lord monk, and friends." One man said.

He walked up to Miroku and grinned.

"So have you met any new serving girls yet?" He asked.

Miroku sighed.

"Sadly most avoid me."

The man laughed.

"Well I must be off."

He bowed his head and walked inside past us. Miroku just led us to a part of the training ground that was empty. He raised his staff and looked at us.

"So you want to spar?"

I nodded and stepped forwards. I untied my cloak and set it gently to the side. I slid into an offensive position. I pulled a kuni free. The monk watched me closely. I shot towards him. He raised his staff, which blocked my knife. Then he spun lashing out. I jumped back but the end of his staff still hit my chest. I smirked. He was good if he could even touch me. I lunged in low bringing my foot up. He jumped back and brought his staff down. I stood up and jumped back.

"May I use sutras?" the monk grinned.

I nodded. He reached into his cloak and brought out five pieces of paper with writing on them. He threw one at me and I dodged it. I sliced the second one with my kuni, but it shocked me for that. The third on hit my leg. I i e third on hit my leg. but it shocked me for that. myy in armour carrying weapons.

scowled as my leg felt frozen to the ground. I dodged the fourth sutra without moving my one leg but the fifth one got my other leg. I scowled as both of my feet stayed frozen to the ground. The monk lunged in and went to hit me with the staff. I dodged just barely and hit him with an open palmed strike. He flew back but surprisingly landed on his feet sliding back. He grinned and lunged in again. His staff was almost a blur. I grabbed it and we had a bit of a tug a war. Then he pulled it from my grip and I hit him in the gut. He coiffed up all his air and flew back landing on his back. He sat up a moment later panting. He walked to me and tore the sutras from my legs. He grinned.

"You're good." He said.

"You are good too." I admitted.

The others were starring at us.

"Yes you are good. You are a ninja? I heard you came here with lady Kagome." Said a voice.

We all looked around. Miroku cleared his throat and pointed to my shoulder. We looked at it to see a small man the size of a flea on my shoulder. He had four arms. He sat cross legged as he looked up at me.

"What are you, un?" Deidara asked.

"I'm Myoga the flea demon." He said.

He stood up and with a huge leap made it to Miroku's shoulder. He grabbed his neck and started to drink his blood. Miroku scowled and slapped his neck. The flea squished flat and floated to the ground. Miroku stepped on him.

"I told you not to do that." He said.

"I'm so sorry lord monk." The flea rasped.

Miroku just scowled at him. Then suddenly an old man walked up to Miroku. He crouched down and picked up Myoga. He straightened.

"You shouldn't pick on your elders, Hentai monk."

Miroku scowled and punched him on the head. The man's head fell forwards then shot up.

"What was I doing?"

'Amnesia?' I wondered.

"Stop the act Totosi." Miroku said.

"Who are you?" Totosi asked.

Everyone saw the monk's eye twitch.

"I'm joking. Is Kagome back?"

"Hai." The monk sighed.

"Good for her. I wanted to talk to her but I heard she was sparring with Naraku's wind carnation. Scary." The old man shivered.

The monk nodded and sighed. Suddenly a cow mooed. They all turned, to look at a three eyed cow.

"Well I must be off." Totosi said.

Myoga nodded agreement. The old man walked to the cow and scrambled on and sat cross-legged. Then the cow lifted into the sky.

"So who was that?" Sasori asked.

"Totosi. He's the best smith in Japan. All his swords have special abilities and can be rarely broken." Miroku said. "But he's senile and I'm not quite sure he's entirely sane."

We all nodded. Then Miroku said he'd take us to see Kagome and the girls. We all followed him down a path towards loud noises. As we emerged from the path into another training ground we all looked at the two women. They were both panting but grinning and covered in cuts and such. They grinned at us.

"Hey guys." Kagome said.

We all nodded to her. Kagura took this time to move. We watched wide eyed as she leapt into the air and swept her fan.

"Dance of blades!" She yelled.

Huge wind blades shot at Kagome who managed to dodge all of them.


End file.
